Opposites Attract
by ebon-drake
Summary: A silly fanfic run amuck that explores what happens when a plan to gain Allura's affections once and for all backfires on Lotor. Not meant to be taken seriously at all. Contains mild adult content and language. Complete.
1. Opposites Attract, Ch 1 To 10

**Disclaimer:** Voltron and all of its characters and settings are copyrighted by World Event Productions, Ltd. and Toei Animation Company. Original characters and plots are the brain-children of me, the author. I am in no way affiliated with the aforementioned companies. No monetary profit is being made from this work, and no copyright infringement is intended. Please do not do not repost or reuse this work without obtaining my permission first. Thank you.

**Author's Note:** This is an old, old fanfic written back in the day when I was a wee fanbrat on a long-term caffeine high. Consequently it is rather long and convoluted and a little silly. There may be a couple OOC's here and there, as while I like Princess Allura's character, she was admittedly a wuss in the series. It was like, "Come on, girl, stand up for yourself!" And that's when I caught myself yelling at my TV and decided to write this sprawling fanfic. At any rate, I hope that you enjoy it.

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 1**

Quietly humming a small tune to herself, Princess Allura silently padded down one of the vast hallways in the Castle of Lions that led towards her bedroom. Almost everybody else in the castle, including the rest of the guys, had already gone to bed, but her advisor, Coran, had insisted on discussing some sort of interplanetary matter with her between Arus and some other planet. Allura was too tired to even remember the name of the dumb thing; she had been unable to escape from Coran and his sleep-inducing lecture until now.

All of a sudden, Allura found herself swiftly crashing to the floor.

"Ow!! Damn it!" Allura swore right after she landed flat on her face; in the background, she could hear what sounded like a rat skittering away.

She knew immediately that she had just tripped over one of the many space mice that ran rampant throughout the castle. After silently wishing a thousand deaths upon the mice, she slowly staggered up and continued down the hallway.

Allura's entire day had been like this - a bitch. Keith had demanded that they have their daily practice flights in the Lions extra, extra early - five in the morning, to be exact. All that Allura could say about the entire matter was that she wasn't the only person silently cursing Keith under her breath; Lance also accidentally let loose a couple of interesting words over his comm. And then there was the weekly inspection; she had had to clean Blue Lion out two times with a toothbrush before Keith finally left her alone about it. And of course, Lotor just had to choose this day, the day she was also PMSing, to attack Arus. The only way she even eluded him this time was by stomping on his foot as hard as she could with the heel of her shiny, new boot and then running like hell when he had cornered her outside of her Lion, just like he always managed to do.

..._That jerk did kiss well, though... Damn it! I shouldn't be thinking like that!..._, she thought in a rush as she neared her room.

Allura hated to admit it, but that had actually been the best part of her day; Lotor at least never told her how to dress or act. The rest of her day had been filled with nothing but Nanny grating on her very last nerves by dictating to her what she could and could not do, despite the fact that she was nineteen years old. She couldn't wear normal clothing; those disgusting pink dresses looked so much "prettier" on her, or so according to Nanny. She also couldn't hang out with the guys "too" much, even though they were her good friends, lest they "damage" her femininity even more, yet she was regularly encouraged to marry some stupid, narcissistic prince whom she hardly even knew. The list went on... Allura could swear that someday she'd smother under the mountain of rules and pink dresses that Nanny continuously shoved towards her. But she didn't want to think about that anymore. Right now, all that she wanted was a relaxing shower and to collapse in bed.

As the door to her room slid open, Allura immediately felt an intense wave of heat wash over her.

_...Ugh... It's like walking into an oven!... I had no idea that it was this hot out!... _

She practically ripped off her voluminous dress in a desperate attempt to escape the heat. After throwing the discarded dress on top of her bed, Allura opened one of her windows in hopes of possibly cooling her room. As she did so, she had to admit that, despite the unbearable temperature, it really was a beautiful night out; the light from the stars reflected piercingly off of the surface of the castle lake. Staring briefly out into the night for a moment, she gradually made a beeline for her bathroom - it was time for that shower.

* * *

Feeling miraculously refreshed, Allura stepped out of the shower and slowly and luxuriously dried herself off with a thick towel. Right now, absolutely nothing could faze her; the universe could just blow up for all she cared. She was simply too relaxed. Even the intense heat wasn't bothering her anymore. Humming to herself, she ran a brush through her now-dry hair, reveling in the thickness and texture of it. Finally, Allura reluctantly got up and wrapped a towel around herself, casually sauntering back into her room and towards her dresser.

Opening the top drawer, she flung aside a few obnoxious pink dresses (Nanny's dictatorship was awesomely widespread) to gradually reveal a bottom layer of lingerie that would've made Nanny blow an artery had she seen them. Never mind that that was the main reason why she even had the stuff in the first place, but it was the principle of the matter- Allura just wanted some things in life that nobody else but her would have a say in. Although it sounded a little childish, it was also one of the only forms of rebellion that she had against Nanny. Digging through a miniature sea of lace and satin, she finally surface with what she was looking for - a sheer, low-cut, midnight-black negligee.

_...And besides, what Nanny doesn't know won't hurt her... or me..._, Allura thought with half a smile.

Laying the negligee out on top of the dresser, Allura prepared to shimmy out of her towel. What she heard next, though, chilled her to the bone.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 2**

"I really didn't think of you as the type of person who would wear those kinds of things... Allura. Not that I'm complaining...," an all but too-familiar voice said humorously.

Allura immediately spun around and nearly dropped her towel in the process. The sight that greeted her was none other than the Prince of Doom lounging on her bed... her bed!!

"Lotor!! How the hell did you get in here?!" she shrieked in surprise and panic, just barely hanging on to her only means of decency.

With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Lotor simply smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"The window was unlocked; I took it as an invitation."

Allura's mind was racing... _How did he get past the guards?!... Shit, this is my fault! Why did I have to open that damn window?!... Oh, God..._

Noticing her obvious discomfort, Lotor's grin widened.

"I was bored, and I figured that you must've missed me by now. But don't let me interrupt you! Please, continue."

Allura, for a moment, forgot about her fear of Lotor and balled up the negligee with her fists, hurling it at him. "No, you ass!... and get out of my room!"

Laughing, he simply caught the lingerie before it hit him. This, of course, only served to piss her off even more.

Stomping over to where he lay, Allura waited until she was only mere inches away from his face before she yelled, "Didn't you hear me the first time? Get out of here!"

The only thing that she managed to do was to blow some of his hair into his face. Seemingly otherwise unaffected, Lotor only smirked slightly.

"You're beautiful when you're angry."

Allura exploded, or she at least felt like she could.

Forcing her anger down, she sighed, and, halfway afraid of what his answer would be, asked, "Look, Lotor... I know that you didn't come all of this way just to watch me undress... What are you doing here? What do you want?"

At first, it appeared as if he was going to say another smart-ass comment, but then Lotor locked eyes with her and said, in a more serious tone, "You and I both know why I'm here."

"No. I've already heard what you've had to say. I'm not listening... No," she immediately refused, standing her ground.

Allura had hoped that this would be enough to make Lotor see reason, but as usual, and to her dismay, he only stood up and began striding towards her, that same damn predatory smirk still plastered to his face. It was then that she remembered her current state of undress, and it also appeared as if Lotor remembered this, too.

"I was hoping that you had reconsidered my offer," Lotor replied smoothly, still going towards her, "but if I have to convince you otherwise, then... so be it."

A familiar, yet delicious, panic rising within her, Allura began to back away.

Keeping her voice from wavering, she said nervously, "My answer has not changed, and neither will it, Lotor. Please leave..."

Ignoring her pitiful request, Lotor came closer still.

_...He's not going to listen... no matter what I say!... _

Allura immediately broke into a desperate run, heading towards her bedroom door. It was better to be caught running around the castle with nothing but a towel on than to be captured and taken to Doom!

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 3**

Before she could reach the door, however, Lotor, with the fluid grace of a cat, caught her arm in a steel grip.

"Ah, ah, ah, you should know better than to try that, Allura... I know you too well."

Allura tried hopelessly to free herself, but to no avail; his grip was too strong.

"Look, don't you have anybody else to stalk?" she gasped, "I heard that Romelle is free tonight..."

Ignoring her remark, he brought his free hand up and lightly brushed her cheek.

"Now, my love, you will listen to me..."

Finally, Allura's fiery temper surfaced for a breath of air.

"No, you will listen!" she yelled, "I have already heard your 'offer' time and time again, and like your 'offer', my answer will never change, and I'll stick to it like the stubborn bastard you are! My answer will always remain 'no', and nothing you can do will ever change that - get that through your thick skull! Now let me go, you... you... monster!"

And with that, Allura, in all of her fury, quickly brought up her free hand and slapped Lotor hard in the face, catching him off guard. He didn't even utter a sound; his saffron eyes, widened in surprise, were staring into space, and the left side of his face appeared to be throbbing, Allura's angry, red handprint contrasting oddly with his azure skin. With a quick, inhaled breath of realization of what she had just done, Allura felt like slapping herself. She would have normally laughed out loud at the ridiculous expression on Lotor's face, but now was not the time; Lotor's unpredictable temper was legendary. Allura held her breath and waited for his belated, and undoubtedly, furious reaction.

After a few tense moments, Lotor's eyes refocused and he began to shake his head like he had just woken up from a coma. During all of this, Allura mentally cursed herself for her stupidity in not taking that opportunity to dive for the alarm button, which activated the castle's warning system, situated on the wall a few feet away from her. Now it was too late, and the chance that an opportunity like this would rise again was slim, at best. And her walls being soundproof certainly didn't help her situation any.

When he finally finished snapping out of his daze, Allura solicitously asked, with feigned concern laced throughout her voice, "Oh... I'm sorry! Are you alright?"

"I think that that's the first time you've ever tried to slap me and actually succeeded," Lotor groaned, rubbing his cheek ruefully, "Ow!! Damn it, that hurts!..."

"Good!" shouted Allura, beginning to pound on his chest with her remaining free hand, "You deserved that! Now let me go, you narcissistic asshole!"

Lotor frowned. Things were definitely not going as he had planned; not that they ever did, anyway. Ignoring her beating fist, he quickly captured her other hand and pressed her body against the wall. Struggling in vain, Allura opened her mouth to scream for help, even though nobody would probably hear her, but Lotor's mouth came down on her own, his hard kiss stifling her yells of indignation. Her fear of being taken to Doom made her fight him even more, but he simply pushed her up against the wall even farther. When her writhing finally died down, he raised his head up from her and looked into her storm-filled, sapphire eyes.

"Will you shut up?!" Lotor whispered furiously, "It is because of my consideration of you that I haven't simply thrown you over my back and carried you off! So it would be nice if you would show me a little gratitude by listening to me for once!"

And then he smugly added, "And although I would much prefer to have you come with me willingly, carrying you off kicking and screaming would be almost as fun in the end, anyway, so it's really your choice."

"You just wait until I get my hands on you...," Allura spat out.

With another one of his obnoxious, trademark smirks gracing his disgustingly flawless face yet again, Lotor replied evenly, "Please, Allura... business before pleasure! There will be plenty of time for the latter, I assure you. I am offering you a chance to not only save your world, but countless others. Unlike my father, I could give... as you Terrans so charmingly put it... a rat's ass about what happens to Arus; it's you that I want. Since I've already gone through the 'Surrender-yourself-to-me-or-else-I'll-destroy-your-planet' spiel many, many times before, I will not bother to do so again. So let's cut to the chase, shall we? Will you marry me?"

"Why would I want to marry someone who I hate?" Allura hissed with as much venom in her voice as possible.

"I'm not stupid, Allura; I've seen how you've reacted to me. You may not feel the same way that I feel for you yet, but you don't hate me," he stated matter-of-factly.

Inwardly, Allura seethed at this. This was what she hated most about Lotor - he was always so arrogant, so sure of himself. She wanted to believe so badly that his words were as seemingly evil as he was, but he, at least for now, was right, and he knew it. She didn't hate him, exactly; it was more of an almost frightening blend of both fascination and fear. Whenever he was near her, though, it infuriated her that he should be able affect her this way, almost as if he knew her better than she did herself... did he?

Lotor's eyes were still intent upon her, and it was obvious that he was expecting a reply.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 4**

Mustering up as much of her willpower as she could, Allura hoped that she didn't appear as weak as she really felt.

"What part of the word 'no' is so difficult for you to comprehend, Lotor? You already know what my answer is. Please, if you leave Arus right now, I won't report this to anyone..."

_...Why do I even try?... _

Just as she had expected, he hadn't even blinked. Not that that would've made a difference; she was still held fast against her bedroom wall by Lotor's massive body.

"You are in no position to give orders here," a cool smile slid across his face as his eyes traveled down her towel-clad self, "And it appears as if you're at a disadvantage."

_...No, really?!..._, Allura thought with exasperation and a surge of rising panic.

Before she even knew what hit her, Lotor had gone in for the kill. He kissed her gently, but stirringly enough that seemingly hundreds of foreign emotions she desperately wanted to go away flooded her brain.

_...Damn it!! Why does he have to be so good at this?!... _

Almost against her will, she found herself kissing him back. Lotor, encouraged by this, relaxed his grip and allowed her to regain the circulation back into her wrists, but still didn't release her altogether.

"Allura... I know that you are enjoying this," Lotor murmured into her ear, his arms wrapping around her waist, "Just say what I need to hear... I would give you everything..."

Acutely aware his now-straying hands, Allura began to squirm.

"Hey! Hands off the merchandise, bu--!!" Allura exclaimed indignantly, but before she could finish, Lotor silenced her the best way that he knew how.

He kissed her more aggressively this time, and Allura almost reveled in this newfound sense of helplessness. As her arms wound around his neck, she tried to clear her head while at the same time trying to keep Lotor's encroaching hands at bay.

_...Augh! How the hell am I going to get away now?! If Lotor has his way, I'll probably be chained to his bed in a bikini for the rest of my natural life! I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do, but whatever it is, I'm going to have to do it, and soon!..._, she thought wildly.

Out of desperation, Allura's eyes frantically darted around for something, anything in her room that might be able to help her. Sure, Lotor was good and all, but still... everything does have its limits. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something that was tantalizingly close, something that she had forgotten about until now.

_...The alarm button!!... _

Allura, for the first time, felt that there was some hope that she might be able to escape. After quickly devising a makeshift plan, she returned her attention back to Lotor, who, to her relief, remained blissfully ignorant of what had just occurred.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 5**

Lotor became immediately aware of the new change in Allura. She was now kissing him urgently, her hands buried into his long mane and her body pressing into his desperately.

_...Now that's what I'm talkin' about!... It's about damn time that she changed her mind!!..._, he thought with amazement.

Much to Allura's consternation, he responded even more enthusiastically towards her new change in attitude; he was all over her. She did have to admit that she was enjoying herself, though. For some obscure reason, a fleeting image of Nanny walking into her room right at that moment and fainting raced through her mind. Allura would have laughed at it, had she been able to.

_...Okay, Ally... You can do this... Pay attention... Don't let things get too far... Gotta time this just right... _

While she was passionately kissing him, one of her hands quietly migrated down from his neck and to the wall, where she began to discreetly feel around for the alarm button. Luckily, she received no interference on Lotor's part; he was too absorbed into what he was doing to notice anything.

_...Almost got it... Almost there... GOT IT!!... _

Wasting no time, Allura slammed her fist down on the button. When the first sound of the klaxons filled the castle, Lotor's eyes snapped open and his grip on her tightened instantly.

"I can't believe that you just did that!" he snarled at her, his eyes narrowing.

Trying like mad to wrench herself out of his grip, Allura managed to sputter out, "What did you expect me to do? Invite you to take a shower with me?!"

Glaring at her, he only ground out, "You're coming with me."

Allura's struggles against him renewed.

"No! No way, Lotor! Let me go!!"

She tried to slap him again, but he simply grabbed her hand before she could try anything. For a moment, an infuriating smirk rested on his face.

"Caught you that time! Nice try, though."

With that, he threw her over his shoulder (kicking and screaming, of course) and quickly proceeded towards her window. Right before he could get there, though, the unmistakable voice of Keith wafted through her bedroom door.

"Princess, are you alright?! What's going on in there?!" he yelled while pounding on her door.

"Va'ashta!!" Lotor immediately swore in Drule, "Not him again!!"

"Keith!! In here! Hurry, it's Lotor!" Allura screamed as loud as she could, "He's trying to kidnap me... again!!"

Not wanting to leave her behind again, Lotor hurriedly put his free hand on the window frame and prepared to step out, but right at that moment, the bedroom door slid open, revealing the rest of the Voltron Force armed with laser rifles aimed right at him.

"Put her down, Lotor!" Keith yelled warningly, cocking his rifle, "We know that you came here without any reinforcements, so if you even remotely value what's left of your worthless life, I strongly suggest that you do as we say!"

After swearing a few more colorful words under his breath, Lotor put his hand close to the hilt of his sword.

"Come any closer and (Ow!) you will be (Ow!) short one pilot for (Oww!!) Voltron (Will you stop that?!)!" Lotor growled menacingly while trying to endure the renewed efforts of Allura pounding on his back with her fists.

"Ha! And maybe Pidge will grow three more feet by next week!" Lance laughed somewhere from behind Keith, "That has got to be one of the lamest bluffs you've ever come up with, Lotor!"

A whiney "Hey!" from Pidge drifted up from behind everyone else.

"Shut up, Lance!" Keith muttered peevishly before he refocused his attentions back on Lotor, "We're not falling for it! Either let her go and leave, or die; it's that simple!"

Lotor's face contorted with fury and annoyance; Allura was still pounding away at his back like no tomorrow, and every time that he came even remotely close to grabbing her, those... idiots always had to come barging in at the last moment to stop him! It wasn't fair!

And why didn't he just grab her when she first walked out of her bathroom? He always made the same mistake of staying too long! And now, the fact that he was outnumbered and that they had long-range weapons while he only had a stupid lazon sword diminished the odds that he would walk out of here with Allura greatly.

_...I can't believe that I'm actually going to do this!... _

With a feral snarl, he put Allura down and pushed her towards them.

"Fine! Take her!

_...There's always next time, I guess... _

As Allura stumbled towards Keith, she heard Lotor go into his infamous Speech that he always made before attempting a dramatic exit.

"You may have won this time, but I will have the final victory!" he declared arrogantly before sending a quick smirk towards her, "And as for you, Allura, you can be sure that I'll be back for you."

Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "Yes, I know, Lotor. You always say that..."

Lotor then quickly launched himself out of her window. For a brief moment, it looked like he was going to kill himself, but then Allura saw otherwise.

_...So that's how that asshole got into my room!!..._

His one-man fighter had been on autopilot, and it was hovering just below her window. How it managed to stay there that long, she had no idea, but she could guess that there was probably some sort of cloaking device on it. As his ship began to swiftly rise out of Arusian atmosphere, Allura felt relieved with a twinge of disappointment mixed in.

"Uh... Why did we let him get away, Keith?" Hunk asked slowly.

"I don't know, Hunk...," Keith trailed off mysteriously, "I just don't know..."

* * *

Fairly soon, there was a flurry of activity within Allura's room. Guards were searching every inch of her room for what, she had no idea, while Coran paced around nervously. Nanny, meanwhile, was sobbing like crazy over how her "beby" had nearly been violated. The guys were leaning against the wall and taking turns inhaling chips from a bag. Allura tired of it all very quickly.

"I'm really tired right now, so can everyone please, um, get out of my room?"

Standing straight up, an anonymous guard bowed politely and quickly said, "I'm afraid that we can't do that, Your Highness. It is still unsafe in here; Prince Lotor might try and return."

Allura looked down on her watch and read 2:45 AM.

...He can't be serious!...

Rolling her eyes again, she mumbled, "Fine, whatever. Do what you want. I'm getting some sleep."

After grabbing a nightgown, a blanket, and a pillow and ignoring Nanny's wailing, she exited her room and slowly made her way towards Castle Control to find a couch to sleep on.

_...There's absolutely no end to it all!!..._, she thought incredulously as she kicked about five space mice out of the way on her way down.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 6**

As Lotor left the atmosphere of Planet Arus, he felt like banging his head over and over against his ship's control panel. He had acted like a complete and utter fool! Not only did he fall for Allura's little trick, he also failed to return back to Doom with her, again. And this was what, his 748th attempt to capture her? How many more times would he have to try before he finally had her? A thousand?!

"And 'You may have won this time, but I will have the final victory'?! What the hell was I thinking?!" Lotor exclaimed in disgust.

Shaking his head in disbelief, his thoughts temporarily shifted to the ever-stoic commander of the Voltron Force.

_...The next time that I see that bastard, I'm going to wring his neck like a rag..._, Lotor thought with uncontained malice while he slammed his fist into the control panel.

He immediately wished that he hadn't. Pain ebbed throughout his hand as he bit his lip to keep from swearing. After several agonizing minutes, the pain slowly started to fade away. While nursing his hurt fist, Lotor tried to contemplate a possible solution to his dilemma.

Fortunately, his father would not hear about this. The last thing Lotor wanted to endure right now was a verbal beating on his pride while in a groveling position at the foot of his father's throne. He had come here on his own, and it wasn't until he saw Allura waltz out of her bathroom, looking absolutely delectable, as usual (but more so tonight), that he actually decided to try and take her. But, as usual, an obnoxious plot hole in the form of the rest of the Voltron Force thwarted his plans.

Sighing in frustration, Lotor tried to recount the myriad ways he had tried to obtain Allura. Maybe there was one he hadn't attempted yet... So far, he had tried everything from seducing her, persuading her, trapping her, tempting her with either himself and/or peace offers, using her people and planet as a leverage to insure her cooperation with him to even faking her own death. Now that he thought about it, he often used a combination of all of the above-mentioned methods whenever he managed to corner her. Well, minus the "faking-her-death" part, at least. He only did that once. Absolutely nothing seemed to work!

His determination and stubbornness often got the better of him, though. Whenever he hassled Allura to marry him, however much that she denied it, he could feel a small part of her give into him every time. If this continued to be a growing trend, she would inevitably give herself up to him. At least he hoped.

_...Maybe Haggar could do something... She screws up a lot, but she might have something good this time..._

The matter momentarily settled, Lotor put his ship on autopilot and tried to fall asleep; it was going to be a while before he landed on Doom.

Yes, Haggar would definitely be hearing from him when he got back...

* * *

Allura slept fitfully that night. She could still hear everyone tramping around in her room, and thoughts of Lotor's late-night visit constantly persisted in her mind. His ominous last words echoed around in her brain.

_...I'll be back for you..._

Although Lotor said that every time he got beaten or caught, for some reason tonight, it stuck. Allura didn't doubt for a moment that he would be back (his perseverance was one of his endearing, if only obnoxious, qualities), but he sounded like he already had a plan, which just might stand a chance of working, for the next time he decided to pay her a quick visit. The only trouble was, she had no idea what he might do. But then again, he might not have something planned... It might just be her paranoia acting up.

With a sleepy yawn, Allura turned over onto her stomach in an attempt to get comfortable. Lotor... where to begin with him... It was amazing to think how someone like him could have ever been spawned by somebody like Zarkon. Although she would never admit it to anyone, she actually thought that Lotor would be a half-way decent catch, if it wasn't for his penchant for torching planets and interpreting "No" as "Ask me again", "Not in a million years!" as "Yes", and "Put me down!" as "Take me, I'm yours!".

And the fact that he knew she was attracted to him didn't help things much, either. It only succeeded in refueling his determination to marry her, and his already-enormous ego was probably inflated to the size of a large galaxy. It actually was flattering, in a sense, and he was nice enough, in a psychotic sort of way, but knowing that Zarkon would be her father-in-law if she married Lotor was just a tad creepy.

Eventually, the noises in her room went away; everyone was probably going back to bed. Raising her head up to look at a clock, Allura groaned and collapsed in a heap when she saw that it was five in the morning.

_...Ugh, Nanny will probably be up in a couple of hours to clean..._

Burying her head under her pillow, Allura screwed her eyes shut and tried to go to sleep one more time.

Well, she would have to take extra care in her watch out for Lotor. If he could get into her room, he could probably get in anywhere!

_...Thanks to that jerk, I probably won't even know the meaning of privacy soon!... _

Whatever it was that Lotor had planned, she would try and be prepared for it. With that in mind, Allura finally began to slowly drift to sleep.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 7**

Haggar was in the middle of creating yet another robeast deep within the bowels of her laboratory when Lotor stomped in unannounced.

"Haggar!!" he thundered loudly, "Where are you, witch?!"

Startled, she accidentally dropped and shattered a vial she had been working with, its cloudy contents now pooling at her feet. Steadying herself up with her staff, she glared at Lotor's offending presence in fury.

"Do you have any idea how many hours of work you have just destroyed?! I didn't even have a chance to write that formula down yet!" Haggar yelled in annoyance.

Acting as if he hadn't even heard her, Lotor only said, a bit more calmly this time, "Oh, there you are..."

Sighing in disgust, Haggar retrieved a broom from somewhere and began to clean up the broken glass.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" she muttered, still sweeping.

"Do you know how many times I've tried to get at Allura?" Lotor asked rhetorically while he leaned against a wall with his arms crossed.

With a snort of laughter, Haggar paused in mid-sweep.

"Please! That's just the same as trying to guess how many years your father has been alive. Anyway, I don't know what you see in that girl."

Shrugging his shoulders helplessly, he simply replied, "Well, it's hard to explain... there's a little bit of the 'thrill-of-the-chase' thing in there, and then there's the whole 'forbidden-fruit' angle, too. There has not been a single person I have come across who has been able to resist me as long as she has... I would normally never ask you this, but haven't you ever been in love before?"

Haggar paused for a moment, a daydream of Zarkon seductively stretched out like a cat in a bed of rose petals (ala "American Beauty") flitting through her mind. After shaking her head to temporarily clear it of that blessed fantasy, she found Lotor staring at her strangely.

"Well?..."

"Nope. Never in my life. I have no idea what you're talking about," she stated quickly while putting the broom away, "What does this have to do with you being here, anyway?"

"I'm getting there, witch!" he snarled impatiently, beginning to pace, "I have tried every conceivable way to capture Allura, but nothing works! Every time that I manage to get her alone, those damn pilots always show up!"

"Don't come whining to me, Lotor, over a mistake that you have made," Haggar informed him shrewdly, "You could have returned with her this time, if, for once, you actually thought with your head, instead of your-"

"Watch it!" Lotor said sharply, "I am fully aware of the fact that I stay too long most of the time! That's only because I don't wish to harm her, and I want her here willingly."

"Or maybe you're just stupid..."

Ignoring her comment, and with that insidious smirk that always made her uneasy, he added, "And that's where you come in, Haggar. I am finally going to have her, and you are going to help me."

Snorting again, she scoffed, "I have helped you on numerous occasions, and you have failed miserably almost every time. What makes you think that I'd help you again?"

"My marriage to Allura would benefit the Empire greatly; like you said before, four Lions do not make Voltron possible," Lotor continued smoothly, "And if I succeed, Voltron will fall. If my father hears that it was your doing, I imagine that you will be greatly redeemed in his eyes; I heard that he was thinking of replacing you with Merla. You do know that he regards you about as highly as he does me, right?"

"Fine!" she spat, shooting him a poisoned look, "Anything to get rid of you! What do you want?!"

Smiling again, he stopped pacing and replied, "I'm so glad that you decided to cooperate, witch! I would've hated to resort to blackmail."

_...Stupid, little brat!!..._

"As long as it stops your bitching, I'm willing to try it," Haggar sighed with irritation, "Now answer my question! What do you want?!"

"Anything," Lotor answered shortly, "Anything that will take away her fear and make her mine."

"Well, you do know that you could do that yourself," she offered somewhat helpfully, "If you were half-way civil to her and not always trying to get down in her dress, she'd probably be more likely to give you the time of day."

"If I wanted your opinion, witch, I would've asked for it!" he snapped, crossing his arms again, "Now, do you have something that could help me, or not?!"

"Fine, fine... Hold on a second," she muttered, patting the sides of her robe down to see if anything was inside.

After a few moments of rummaging through the pockets of her robe, Haggar finally emerged with what looked like a small, red box.

"What the hell is that?" Lotor asked curiously, bending over slightly to inspect it.

"It holds a substance that I've been working on for a while," Haggar explained, popping open the lid to the box to reveal a white powder, as fine as sand, "It's intent is to bring up the dominant emotion of whoever breathes it in and then invoke that emotion's opposite. What's neat about the powder is that it's selective in which emotion it invokes; it only seeks out what the recipient feels about whoever induces it into their system. In your case, since Allura's fear overrides her attraction to you, it would banish that fear. That's basically all that you need to know about it."

"Okay...," he said carefully, "So if what you're saying is right, I have a one hundred percent chance of getting Allura when I use this?"

"Yes," she answered casually before closing the box and tossing it to Lotor, "I originally intended this for your fath- I mean, it's only a prototype; I'm still working on the formula, but it should work."

Feeling a shudder travel down his spine from Haggar's suppressed comment, he caught the box reflexively.

"If you say so, witch... It better work."

"Oh, it will, don't worry," she replied nonchalantly as her cat jumped up into her arms.

Lotor quickly pocketed the box and then began to stride towards the lab's doorway. Watching him leave, Haggar was still stroking her familiar's head when she all of a sudden remembered the really important thing about the powder that she forgot to tell him about.

"Lotor! I forgot to tell you something about that stuff!" she yelled after him, "It hasn't been tested very much, so-"

Waving her words away as if they were unimportant, he yelled back, "I'll manage, witch! I'll manage."

_...Don't say that I didn't warn you, boy..._

When his form finally disappeared entirely from her laboratory, she cackled to herself and released the cat onto the floor.

_...I can't wait for that idiot to come back here... just to see what goes wrong!..._

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 8**

"Preencess."

Allura barely stirred.

"Oh, Preencess..."

This time, Nanny gently tapped her on the shoulder. The only results that she managed to get out of Allura was a loud, princessly snore. Nanny then latched onto her shoulders and violently shook her awake.

"Preencess! VAKE AHP!!"

"Wha-a-a-a-a-t?" Allura sputtered out tiredly as her eyes finally flew open.

Once she saw that she was awake, Nanny apologetically released her out of her vise-like grip.

"Oh, guut! Hyuu are avake! Vaht hyuu are doink sleepink down een here ees beyohnd me, baht hyuu mahst get dressed right avay," Nanny replied briskly as she began to gather up some random, dirty sheets, "Zere veel be a veeseetor here to zee hyuu shortly."

Mumbling incoherently to herself while at the same time rubbing her internally bruised shoulders, Allura attempted to kick off her blanket, but instead gracefully rolled off of the couch and squashed her face on the ground in the process. Spending a moment growling into the floor, she finally somehow got to her feet and began to stumble towards her bedroom, her blanket dragging behind her.

"Before hyuu goh, Preencess," Nanny casually mentioned while in the middle of her laundry-gathering, "Vould hyuu like to tell me vhy zese vere found in hyoor room last night?"

And with that, she brandished and waved in the air accusingly a handful of skimpy bras that she had withdrawn from the ample folds of her apron. Allura's eyes snapped open and grew as wide as saucers at this.

_...Oh, crap!! She found my stash!... _

Backing slowly away from the behemoth that was her governess, all that she managed to stutter out was, "I-I have no... idea, N-Nanny... They must be... Keit-no... Romelle's, yeah! There, uh, Romelle's! She must have, um, left them here, heh-heh... heh..."

"Zat dahs eet!" Nanny exclaimed, dropping her handful of sheets and advancing on her, "Noh beby ov mine vears zese kind ov... ov... tasteleess feelth! Hyuu cahm here unt explain hyoorself zese eenstant!"

For the first time in her life (well, that she could remember, at least), Allura gathered up the flowing folds of her billowing nightgown and darted away from Nanny and down the hallway, leaving her far behind in her wake.

"Preencess!! Zese ees noh vay to behaffe! Ztop, right now!" Nanny's calls echoed uselessly from behind Allura.

Pretending like she didn't hear her, Allura continued running until she went around a corner, where she accidentally collided into Lance.

"Oof!" he wheezed as he fell down to the floor, dragging her down with him.

"Oops, sorry, Lance! Are you okay?" Allura contritely asked, immediately getting up off of him.

Rubbing the back of his head as he shakily stood up, Lance winced and moaned, "I will be, no thanks to you... No offense, Princess, but you need to carry a warning sign around with you, or something. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Quickly explaining Nanny's discovery of her stashed lingerie collection, Allura became slightly annoyed afterwards when a smirk resembling Lotor's a little too much for her liking twitched across Lance's lips.

"Ah, I believe I know what you are speaking of... You know, I never would've figured you as the type of person who would wear those kinds of things, Princess. Now I think I know why Lotor busted into your room... Well, that and the towel... thing...," Lance grinned wolfishly, but after noticing her glowering scowl, he sobered his tone down a bit, "But, never fear! Believe it or not, I went through the same exact thing you're going through right now when Nanny found my... ah, magazines under my bed... So, I know a hiding place where she'll never find you!"

"Well, hurry up and take me there!" Allura shouted hysterically; in the background, Nanny's footsteps were coming closer towards them.

Shrugging his shoulders, he yanked her arm and dragged her towards his room, and none too soon; right when his bedroom door slid shut, Nanny had just thundered around the corner where they had been.

"You call this a hiding place?!" Allura exclaimed incredulously from underneath his bed, "I'm practically swimming in dust!"

Lying on top of his bed with a book, Lance replied in a laidback manner, "Relax, it worked for me! It was the last place that Nanny would expect for me to hide, so it should do the same for you."

"If you say so," she muttered.

All of a sudden, there was a knock at Lance's door.

"Helloh? Ees anyvone een here?" Nanny called from the other side.

"Shut up now!" he quickly hissed at Allura, "She's right here! Just be quiet, and she'll go away soon!"

Right at that moment, his door slid open, admitting Nanny in.

"I zought I hyeard zomevone else een here...," she trailed off suspiciously.

"Nope, it's just me," Lance said smoothly while turning over his book to see what the title was, "Just me and a good, old copy of... 'Chicken Soup For The Soul'?!"

Standing there for a moment, Nanny finally said, "Oh, okay... Vell, sorry."

"Not a problem, Nanny... Just, be quiet on your way out," he dismissed her with an errant wave of his hand, pretending to be absorbed into what he was 'reading'.

Just as she was about to exit the room, a small sneeze leaked out from underneath Lance's bed. This, of course, did not escape her keen hearing.

"Ah, ha! I knew eet!" Nanny crowed triumphantly, "Zaht preencess can't get avay frahm me!"

"Oops..." Lance muttered while he smacked himself in the face with his book.

"Damn straight!" came Allura's muffled yell.

Wasting no time, Nanny practically bowled over Lance in her attempt to force the princess out from under the bed.

"Sorry, Princess...," Lance said apologetically.

As Nanny dragged her out of the room by her feet with her nails scratching across the floor, Allura glared up at him and ground out, "Thanks for nothing, Lance!"

Shrugging his shoulders helplessly and sticking his hands into his pockets, he almost smiled as he replied, "Well, what do you want me to do about it?"

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 9**

About 15 minutes later, Allura was soon deposited back inside of her room. After being berated for acting in such an unladylike manner, her lingerie collection was unceremoniously cremated (she did manage to salvage her lucky bra, though) within a bonfire on her balcony. Now thumbing through her closet, Nanny was apparently looking for something.

"Zuch nonsense," she clucked in a motherly fashion, "Hyuu almohst vould have been late for hyoor veeseetor! Now put zese on."

She then threw a gown of some sorts towards Allura. It appeared to be the more ornate version of her usual (blegh) pink staple.

Holding the dress distastefully up against her body, Allura wrinkled her nose and asked, somewhat curiously, "What's the occasion?"

"Oh, I almohst forgaht to mention... Hyuu'll never gyess who ees cahmink to zee hyuu..."

_...Not another one of her stupid princes..._, Allura thought with exasperation, rolling her eyes.

"Eet's a PREENCE!" Nanny cried happily, her eyes taking on a starry, romantic glow, "Unt not jahst any preence, eizzer! He's ze preence ov... ov... planeet Mahkraia... I zink. He cahms frahm very far avay... He's frahm ze Andara Galaxy, I believe."

"The what Galaxy? I've never even heard of it," Allura pondered for a moment while looking at her quizzically.

"Vell, zat dahsn't matter. Vaht matters ees zat you put on zese gown," Nanny resumed, her voice taking on its usual brisk, business-like manner.

"Alright, alright. Just keep your apron on," Allura muttered sourly, preparing to step foot into the frothing mass of pinkness.

After a few moments of struggling and kicking, Allura finally had most of the dress on.

"So, what's this guy like, anywa--?!" Allura mentioned casually before Nanny took it upon herself to tighten the bodice of her dress a tad too much, leaving her lungs strangely deprived of oxygen.

"Oh, he's very charmink unt handsome," Nanny reassured her, "You veel like heem."

"You (Gasp!)... say that about all of (Gasp!)... them," Allura wheezed, her lungs heaving for air.

"Vell, eet's guut to haff a poseeteeve outlook on zese kind of zings," she said while she finished putting the final touches on Allura's dress and hair, "Zere! All dahn!"

Nanny then whirled her around, admiring her handiwork. While she was being spun around, Allura managed to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror and blanched. To her horror, she discovered that she looked like an old Barbie doll from planet Earth.

Skillfully concealing her disgust, she clenched her teeth and forced herself to smile, carefully selecting words that wouldn't set off Nanny's volatile temper.

"Thank you ever so much, Nanny..."

"Ah, no prohbleem," she held up her hand modestly, "Now, cahm viz me!"

Latching onto her arm, Nanny proceeded to drag Allura, now shorn of dignity, towards the direction of the awaiting prince.

When Allura finally got down to waiting room, the man whom she supposed was the prince looked up at her and stood up, smiling amiably. Quickly tempering her facial expression to match that of a cool aloofness, she warily surveyed him.

He appeared to be in his early twenties. He was also tall, although not as tall as Lotor was, but he was still fairly tall. His dark hair was almost as long as Lotor's own mane. He was slightly less muscular than Lotor was, but not by a whole lot. What she most noticed about him, though, were his laughing crimson, almost reptilian, eyes, but they weren't as near as intriguing as Lotor's eyes. Overall, he was fairly attractive, but not as much as Lotor was.

_...Damn it! Why am I even comparing this prince to Lotor?!..._, Allura cursed herself.

He seemed to be friendly enough, but still... she had had too much experience with princes who were unable to see anything past their own reflections to be sure. Allura's thoughts were soon interrupted by the prince looking at her expectantly.

"Hmmm? Oh, where was I?" Allura asked, sounding as if she was just lost in a fog, "Oh, please excuse me! Hello, my name is-"

"There's no need to tell me your name, Your Majesty," the prince chuckled lowly while in mid-bow, "I don't believe that there's a soul in the universe who doesn't know of you. But please let me introduce myself- my name is Damien Mandava, and I am the ruler of planet Makraia in the Andara Galaxy."

Dropping a hasty curtsy, she managed to smile and reply, "I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, Prince... ah, Damien. I must admit that I am not familiar with the name or location of your home world, however."

"That's quite alright, Your Majesty. The number of people who know of the whereabouts of even the Andara Galaxy are few, I fear. My planet is quite... distant," the prince laughed ruefully, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

Finding herself loosening up, Allura began to laugh, despite herself.

Seeing that he was scoring some brownie points with her, Prince Damien continued on.

"Even though Makraia is far away, it resembles your planet quite a bit. But both my people and I have to regularly defend it from the forces of our enemies, and I'm afraid that we won't last much longer against them. The tales of how you have vanquished your enemies have traveled all the way to our galaxy, and when I heard of both them and you... well, I am willing to try anything for my people. I apologize for my abruptness, but I have traveled here to ask for your hand in marriage in order to establish an alliance between your planet and my own; my people are dying."

Allura's interest in the prince piqued. Although she obviously didn't know that much about him to make any sudden decisions, he was probably the first prince that she had ever encountered who was that down-to-earth and cared about his people, as well. Prince Damien's plight also bore an eerie resemblance to her own.

As he awaited her answer, the prince appeared apprehensive.

Carefully going over what she would say, she smiled once more before replying, "I am not going to make any decisions right away, but I will be glad to lend you any assistance that you might need in fighting this enemy of yours. In the meantime, please feel free to stay on planet Arus as long as you wish to rest."

Heaving a sigh of relief, Prince Damien flashed a brilliant smile towards her.

"Oh, thank you so much, Your Highness! My people and I are forever in your de- Wait a minute, did you say planet Arus?"

Looking puzzled, Allura nodded.

"Um... yes... What's wrong?"

"You mean that this isn't planet Ayus?!" the prince asked incredulously, his scarlet eyes widened in genuine confusion, "If this isn't Ayus, then your name probably isn't Princess Megalla, is it?"

Even more confused by now, Allura said, "No, my name is Princess Allura."

"What?! Did you just say 'Princess Allura'?!" inquired Prince Damien fearfully, his tone rising curiously in pitch, "Are you saying that you are _the_ Princess Allura?!"

"Yes, but what's the problem?" Allura asked, her voice beginning to edge with annoyance at the prince's odd behavior.

Beginning to hyperventilate, he paced frantically back and forth.

"Oh, shit! I can't believe that I just asked Prince Lotor's fiancée to marry me! Never mind that I was under the impression that you were somebody else, but I am dead. I am so dead! I may come from a backwater planet, but we're not that backwater! Everybody has heard of him!!"

Now, although Allura had a fairly reasonable temper, she was soon seeing red. While Prince Damien was still pacing back and forth, her shaking hands were curled into fists and she was furiously grinding her teeth.

_...I can't believe that that bastard actually had the audacity to call me his fiancée!!..._, Allura thought with unmatched ferocity, _...He's spreading lies about me! I could just snap his neck and... AUGH!!..._

Bringing her attentions back to the frantic prince, she tried to calm both herself and him down.

"Listen, I know that you thought I was somebody else, but this whole thing is just one really big misunderstanding," Allura explained, touching him on the arm.

Recoiling as if he had just been touched by a poisonous snake, Prince Damien sputtered out, "I'll say! Man, oh, man, I am so DEAD! Look, you never saw me, you never touched me, you've never even heard of me, okay?!"

Allura closed her eyes and resisted the urge to yell at him, but when she opened them up again, he was already gone.

"LOTOR!!" she screamed, her fury knowing no boundaries, "THIS IS THE LAST TIME THAT YOU SCREW ME OVER!!"

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 10**

Allura yawned sleepily as she surveyed the metallic interior of Blue Lion.

_...It's too damn early for this... _

As of late, Keith had been demanding that they have their usual practice flights in the Lions earlier and earlier than ever; by now, he had managed to work his way up to 4:30 in the morning. Why he insisted on having them fly their Lions at such ungodly hours, no one really knew... except for himself, of course. She would definitely be having a word with him about it later on, though...

The cold from the early morning and the Lion's interior permeated the thin material of Allura's uniform, causing her to shiver. Oh, the days where she was able to sleep in until noon... now seemed like a thing of the distant past... Gnashing her teeth in frustration, she strapped herself into her seat and flipped on her comm to check in with everyone else.

"Princess, are you in yet?" Keith's voice asked perkily.

"Yes, no thanks to you!" snarled Allura, taking a quick swig of some coffee.

"Well, someone's certainly not a morning person!" Keith sniffed huffily.

_...No shit, Sherlock!..._, she thought sourly.

"Well, anyway... Lance, you in yet?"

There was a silent pause for a moment, but then Allura covered her mouth to keep from laughing as a muttered stream of obscenities came floating through her comm.

"Damn it!! It's not fair! Why?! Why me? I could just kick his ass and... and - oh, fudge... Ummm, yeah, I'm here, Keith..."

"Great! Hunk, check in."

A loud, gargantuan snore immediately resonated through everyone's comm, rupturing a few eardrums in the process.

A bit discombobulated, Keith cleared out his ears before saying, "O-kay, Hunk's... here. What about you, Pidge?"

"Yes... I'm... (Yawn!)... here... Keith... (Must... put down... gun...)," sighed Pidge, trying not to sound too excited.

"Alrighty then!" Keith cried happily, almost on the verge of giggling, "Let's go, team!!"

With some more muted grumbling in the background, and after Hunk was finally prodded awake, everyone reluctantly complied with Keith's far too perky, sunshiney request.

Pausing to activate a few switches, Allura soon felt the familiar inner mecha of her Lion hum to life.

"Well, here goes nothing," she muttered, right before activating one last switch.

With a tremendous rush of speed, Blue Lion launched itself out of the depths, and, after acquiring significant momentum, shot out of the castle lake with a monumental spray of water. Allura quickly entered in the coordinates of the location of the Valley of Zohar onboard her system's computer as the Lion swiftly gained altitude. After some distance, she allowed herself to relax somewhat as she barely made out the silhouettes of the other Lions against the dimly-lit Arusian horizon.

She really did enjoy flying Blue Lion, for a multitude of reasons, actually, but this was just too much; the moon was still up, for crying out loud!

Sighing again, Allura slowed the Lion down to a stop, but kept it levitating, as she neared the Valley. The other Lions arrived there at about the same time as she did.

Keith's staticky voice soon broke the deafening silence.

"Okay, team!! Is everyone here?"

"Crimony, what do you think?! Oh, um... yes."

"Yup."

"Uh, huh."

"Yeah..."

"Great!" Keith exclaimed, savoring his power fix as his voice took on the tone of 'I am the supreme Commander! Hahahaha! Worship me!', "Everyone, in formation for flight pattern 'Alpha'!"

Smothering another yawn, Allura effortlessly piloted her Lion into formation, with Yellow Lion beside her, Red and Green Lion ahead of her, and, of course, Black Lion taking on the lead. Afterwards, Keith made them do nothing but "different" flight patterns for another hour, so Allura gradually tuned out his monotonous ranting as her thoughts began to wander again.

It had been about a week or so since her encounter with the cowardly Prince Damien; when Nanny had inquired about the whereabouts of him, all that Allura had said was that he hadn't been quite what she was looking for.

_...And that's understating it... _

What was surprising, though, was that she hadn't had another encounter with Lotor yet. She was still furious at him for calling her "his" fiancée, but his ominous-sounding last words had heightened her paranoia somewhat, even up to the point of her expecting him to pop up someplace really unexpected, like her fridge or closet. No doubt, though, that, buried someplace in Lotor's little black book, those very suggestions were probably written under something like "Fun, New Places to Stalk Allura".

_...The next time he decides to run into me, I am so going to kick his butt..._, Allura thought with righteous ire.

"Princess? He-llo, anyone home?" Keith asked, slightly miffed, through her comm, shattering her contemplations, "We're done practicing flight patterns."

"Oh, that's, um, great, Keith," Allura answered, trying to hide her blatantly obvious boredom, "What now?"

"You are to engage in mock combat with me," replied Keith, having a hard time concealing the superiority lacing his voice, as well, "You could use a little practice, you know..."

With a sadistic smile that would've done Lotor proud, she luxuriously purred, "With pleasure..."

_...Prepare to have your ego punctured, little man... _

After hitting a few random buttons, Allura watched with a crooked grin as a large, vicious-looking laser knife materialized out of thin air in her Lion's mouth. She liked Keith, she really did; not only was he her planet's protector, he was also her friend, but he needed to be taught a lesson.

_...Nobody takes away my sleep and gets away with it!!... _

As she predatorily leapt in the air towards Keith's awaiting Lion, Hunk, Lance, and Pidge gleefully followed to watch the "carnage" that would soon ensue.


	2. Opposites Attract, Ch 11 To 20

**Disclaimer:** Voltron and all of its characters and settings are copyrighted by World Event Productions, Ltd. and Toei Animation Company. Original characters and plots are the brain-children of me, the author. I am in no way affiliated with the aforementioned companies. No monetary profit is being made from this work, and no copyright infringement is intended. Please do not do not repost or reuse this work without obtaining my permission first. Thank you.

**Author's Note:** This is an old, old fanfic written back in the day when I was a wee fanbrat on a long-term caffeine high. Consequently it is rather long and convoluted and a little silly. There may be a couple OOC's here and there, as while I like Princess Allura's character, she was admittedly a wuss in the series. It was like, "Come on, girl, stand up for yourself!" And that's when I caught myself yelling at my TV and decided to write this sprawling fanfic. At any rate, I hope that you enjoy it.

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 11**

It was roughly later on in the morning when everyone returned back to Castle Control, and Allura was positively glowing as she emerged from her transporter, her ego sufficiently inflated.

Hunk and Pidge gave each other high-fives as they both exclaimed, "Yeah! Now we can sleep in again!! Way to go, Princess!"

Lance was smiling gratefully towards her as he silently mouthed, "Thank you! Oh, God, thank you!!"

Keith, on the other, took a little while longer to exit his transporter.

"How could I lose? How could she have beaten me?" he muttered to himself, "I'm the commander! I should've won! I'm the commander, damn it! I'm the commander!!"

Allura was surprised that she had bested Keith in combat, as well. It took a lot of effort on her part, but she still had beaten him! He normally won most of the time, and he probably would next time, too.

_...Oh, well... I might as well enjoy this for as long as I can..._

She waited for Keith to catch up to her before she casually replied, her voice dripping with undisguised irony, "Great job, Keith! Better luck next time, though. In the meantime, you could use a little practice, you know..."

Keith, for a moment, took in a huge breath of air and turned as red as his flight suit, but then regained his composure before blowing off her words.

"Eh, it was a one time thing. I was just being nice. I'll win next time."

Still grinning maniacally, Allura crossed her arms and said, "Sure, Keith, and maybe Zarkon's not really a tuna in a dress. Just be sure that what you say won't come back to haunt you!"

"I think that the same could be said for you," he stated simply as he began to walk ahead of her.

"Oh, Fearless Commander... I do believe that you should take that stick out of your ass; I think some of it's beginning to show," she called jokingly from behind him.

Arching an eyebrow, Keith turned back towards her and nonchalantly retorted, "And you were dropped on your head as a child... how many times again?"

"...Well, whatever," Allura said knowingly, trying to feign an injured pride, but couldn't, so she stuck her tongue out playfully, instead, "However, I do want to thank you for promising not to wake us up any later than nine in the morning for practice flights from now on. Out of curiosity, though, just why did you go spastic on all of us and wake us up at four this morning?"

Keith briefly turned red again for a moment, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Uh... Well, I guess I did get a bit carried away with the whole 'Be prepared' thing... and, well, there is one more thing..."

"What?"

"It was the power, man, the power... Do you have absolutely any idea how fun it is to torture you guys?"

* * *

Both Allura's mind and body were numbed from the day's activities as she slowly plodded towards her bedroom, again. She sincerely wished with all of her heart now that it was Coran who scheduled what she had to do every day, and not Nanny; he would at least be more merciful towards her.

_...If I didn't know any better, I'd say that she was trying to kill me... _

Nanny had seen to it that her schedule was as booked as possible from the moment she had gotten back from her early morning practice flights to when she had finally collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

_...Let me see... first, there were language lessons from Coran... and then I had to deal with 7 diplomats visiting from different planets... more lessons from Coran... and then some crap that Nanny made me do... I forget what..._, Allura pondered as she silently ticked each activity off with one finger.

Either way, this was all probably Nanny exacting her revenge upon her for not obeying her since the lingerie incident. Raking her fingers through her long hair, she gave a harried sigh and continued on her way, still lost in her own thoughts.

_...Oy... and to think I still have almost two years before I'm even coronated!... Now I think I know how Coran feels..._

Suppressing yet another yawn, Allura finally entered her bedroom and tiredly tore off her ghastly, pink jumpsuit, preparing to enter the forgiving sanctity of her shower. Just as she was about to enter the bathroom, however, a new thought sprang into _her head._

_...Oh, yeah... although I wouldn't mind at all attempting to beat the hell out of Lotor, I really don't relish the idea of being crushed against my bedroom walls again..._

Allura quickly rechecked her windows to make sure that they were all closed and locked before she returned back to where she was originally going.

_...Knowing him, though, he'll probably find another way in here... like slithering underneath the windowsill... _

Closing her bathroom door, she eventually stripped off the rest of her clothing and allowed the thick steam of the shower to envelop and carry away both herself and her plethora of worries and problems.

* * *

Sighing in contentment, Allura unhurriedly toweled herself off. With her problems temporarily lifted off of her shoulders, she could finally enjoy the luxury of a getting a good night's sleep. Right as she was about to dry off her thick, blonde mane, she abruptly changed her mind, opting for a braid, instead. Sure, her hair would be all gross and unkempt tomorrow, but she was feeling too tired and lazy to deal with it right now. The matter settled, Allura pulled her wet hair back into a sloppy braid and donned a light, airy nightgown before she exited the bathroom.

Almost floating towards her bed, she swiftly cocooned herself up within her comforter as her almost-bloodshot eyes began to close in bliss.

_...Finally... no Keith... no Nanny... just... sleep... _

However, before even a minute had passed, a small shuffle from the distant corner of Allura's room soon caused her tortured eyes to fly open again in unholy fury.

_...That had better be space mice that I hear... instead of who I think it is!!... _

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 12**

With a speed that could rival Hunk's in the presence of Nanny's cake, Allura found her light switch and turned it on, illuminating her room and revealing (surprise, surprise) Lotor in a sneaking position near her bed, the stricken look on his face resembling that of an animal caught in the headlights.

"So, you finally decided to show up, huh?" she stated sardonically, looking down at her watch, "Oooo, earlier than last time, too; it's only 11:30. And you even let me get my clothes on; how considerate of you! But, please tell me, Lotor, how is it that you have an almost impeccable ability to show up whenever I am alone, tired, bitchy, naked or almost naked, and in the foulest mood possible? I mean, couldn't you try and kidnap me during the day on your own time?"

Surprised at the apparent lack of her usual fear of him, Lotor attempted to give her an innocent look, but since she obviously already knew of his reputation, it didn't work.

"Well... um... er... Damn it! I thought you'd be asleep by now!"

"Try waiting for more than one minute," Allura replied acidly, "How did you get in this time? I made sure that all of my windows were locked."

Straightening out to his full height and brushing off his uniform, he answered, "Not all. The window to the right of the one that I came in through last week was unlocked. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you wanted me to come in after you..."

_...Augh! Not again!... Why am I being so careless lately?!..._, Allura thought as a horrified look crossed her face.

"So, I was right," Lotor smirked as he noted the expression on her face, "You are just playing dumb with me."

"Dumb? Excuse me, this coming from someone who always makes the same mistakes over and over again? And, not to mention, used the same exact tactic, which did not work, that he used last week?"

"Hey! Normally, I don't like to operate the same way twice, but who am I to turn down a good opportunity when I see one?"

Rolling her eyes, Allura crossed her arms and muttered, "Whatever... We've been through this situation too many times before. I know what you want, you know what I want. You know what I'm going to say, I know what you're going to say. This whole thing is pointless. So, if you'll kindly be on your way, then... Bye-bye..."

"No," Lotor firmly refused, "I didn't come all this way to leave with nothing."

"Really? I thought that you'd be used to it by now."

"I am going to choose to ignore that, for your sake, but since you already have laid everything so neatly out before us," he continued on in a silken tone, "And I am... as you so quaintly put it... such a stubborn bastard, I will convince you to marry me yet."

"I expected you to say that... You do every time," Allura scoffed, still keeping a wary distance between him and herself, "And my answer is still 'no'. So, why don't you get lost?"

"Not again...," sighed Lotor, running his hand through his hair in exasperation.

"Oh... poor baby! You act as if I'm the one who's torturing you, instead of the other way around. Oh, oh! And thank you for reminding me; just why the hell are you spreading rumors about me?!"

"Rumors?" Lotor looked blankly at her.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 13**

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, you big, fat liar!" Allura stared at him in contempt, "A little, spineless bird told me that you were spreading lies around that I was your fiancée! Your fiancée!! I don't recall ever saying 'yes' to any of your monotonous proposals!... Your scare tactics may work on potential suitors, but they don't work on me!"

"Oh, I know what you're talking about now!" he exclaimed as it finally dawned upon him, "Well, I don't really have any excuse for that, other than that it's not a total lie since I consider the results of the situation to be pending."

"Pending results?!" Allura cried in disbelief, "I already gave you my answer to your questions a long time ago, so the only reason why the 'results' might be 'pending' is because you never stop asking! I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop scaring away my suitors!"

"Maybe so, but if I remember correctly, you send them all packing in the end, anyway," Lotor pointed out, holding a hand up to halt any further accusations.

"That's none of your damn business what I do! If my governess is successful in forcing me to marry, I would at least like more choices than you to choose from!" Allura yelled indignantly, "Now, though, no one will so much as even touch me because they're afraid that you'll tear them apart! You've virtually destroyed whatever chance I had at an almost nonexistent love life; I hope you're happy!"

Shrugging his shoulders, he replied indifferently, "Well, if it makes any difference to you, you've ruined me for other women."

"I don't care!" Allura practically roared, "Why do you insist on chasing me? Don't you have Merla, or that what's-her-face... Corrall?... Hey, don't you have a harem?!"

"I'm used to getting what I want, that's why! As for the others, it was fun while it lasted, but things kind of fell apart, and... Well, you know how things go."

"No, I don't! Just... Just... I've said 'no' to you a million times, and I know that you have a brain, however small it may be, somewhere down there, and... and... Will you just leave?!"

"Look, why don't you just say 'yes'? It would end a lot of problems and save us a lot of heartbreak..."

Staring at him, Allura cleared out her throat and asked incredulously, "Are you being serious? You expect me to not only ignore the atrocities you've committed against countless other planets, but also to turn my back on my people and my friends, surrendering everything to you... and agree to be your wife?!"

"Well... yeah."

"Not happening."

"You're acting as if I'm asking you to disembowel yourself!" he exclaimed, "Why won't you just say 'yes'?! I know that you're attracted to me, and I would give you everything that you could ever want... Anything and everything!... _And_ I'm a three-time 'Mr. Universe' champion, for crying out loud!! What is there _not_ to like about me?!"

"What good will all of that do me while Arus is being barbecued by your fleet?!"

Lotor was on the verge of exploding.

"I don't want your freaking planet!! How many times do I have to tell you that before it finally sinks in?!" he shouted in frustration, but, seeing as how that was getting him nowhere, abruptly softened his voice, "...I only want... you, Allura; I'm in love with you, alright? I admit it. I may not have been at first, but I am now. All that I want is to be with you... I have never wanted that from anyone before. You and your planet would be spared from my father... and you're not totally opposed to the idea of marrying me, are you?"

Somewhat startled by this sudden confession out of Lotor, Allura tried to not let it faze her.

"You're lying..."

Smacking himself in the face, Lotor muttered, "And here we go again..."

"Hey, this isn't exactly a picnic for me, either!"

"Then why don't you just accept your fate, like everyone else has?!" he demanded, trying to remain calm, but without much success.

Allura's own temper was beginning to match his in intensity.

"Look, I don't have to stand here in my own room, no, wait... on my own planet, even, and listen to you make impossible demands concerning my future," she replied with a deadly calm, "You are going to leave, now."

Giving a low laugh, Lotor arrogantly tossed his head to the side and remarked, "Now, why would I want to go and do something like that?"

"Because it certainly helps if your head isn't blown to pieces," Allura stated as she whipped out a small laser blaster that had been concealed within her nightgown, "Now, leave."

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 14**

Lotor's eyes widened in surprise as his hands went up in the air.

"Whoa, hello...where did you get that thing?"

"It's a small precaution I took since your last 'visit'," she replied, the stress from the past week beginning to weigh heavily on her, "Now, DO AS I SAY AND LEAVE!"

Lotor kept his distance, but made no move to obey her.

"Shit, what's your problem?!"

"Look, I have had a crappy week," Allura said slowly, her throat constricting with anger and her blaster still trained on him, "Why don't you try and stay pleasant while you're constantly deprived of sleep, treated like a prepubescent child, continuously pestered by a psychopathic prince with questions of, 'Will you marry me? Will you marry me? I'll liquefy your planet unless you marry me!', and have everyone riding your ass for one thing or another?! I'd say that I'm doing a bloody, damn good job of it, if you ask me! And all that I want right now... is some sleep. Is that so much to ask?! Now, please, please leave. I'm asking you nicely. You can come back sometime tomorrow and bug me, I promise; we'll make a date out of it. Okay?"

An awkward moment of silence pervaded the air for a short while before it was soon interrupted by the ever-tactful smile of the Drule prince.

"Psychopathic? And I thought that you didn't care!"

"Shut UP, Lotor!"

"Alright, alright...," he chuckled, his hands still up in the air, "And I thought that I had it rough... Well, at least you got all of that out into the open, right?"

Tilting her head to the side thoughtfully, Allura considered, "Yes, I suppose that you're right. I do feel a little bit better... Hey, quit changing the subject! You're not supposed to be here! Why don't you... just go back to whatever rock you crawled out underneath from?!"

Lotor's eyes then narrowed slightly, as if searching for the perfect moment to strike when her guard became lowered. He still remained in the same spot, but she could tell that he was quickly devising a plan of some type to thwart her attempts at making him leave.

"Whatever you're planning, Lotor, forget it; it won't do you any good," she said warningly, tightening her finger on her blaster's trigger.

He immediately looked her in the eyes and smirked knowingly, almost as if he had already regained control of the situation.

"I will leave, Allura, but not without you. Draw whatever conclusions you want from my offer, but it remains this: I want you to give yourself to me out of your own free will; however, since you remain so... obstinate, I will have no choice but to take you to Doom myself and convince you otherwise in the end. Either way, you will belong to me, Allura. I know that you desire me, and you would gain so much more... Arus would be spared from the war between the Empire and the Alliance... that is what you want, right?"

"Yes, but I belong to no one, especially you!" she snarled in fury, her grip on her blaster beginning to waver, "Voltron will defeat you; it always has! I have poured my very being into protecting Arus from Zarkon; what makes you think that I'd give in to you any easier?"

Allura wasn't quite sure of what happened next, but before she knew it, she was pinned against her wall, yet again, by Lotor's powerful frame, her blaster no where to be seen.

Ignoring her futile struggling, he whispered intimately into her ear, "Because he never held the fate of your planet or the lives of millions of your people in his hand quite like I do... That's why..."

For a moment, Allura stared into his deadly serious eyes, raw fear finally setting in.

"You wouldn't..."

Lotor smiled at her coldly.

"Who says? If that's what it will take to convince you, then that's what it will take. I have decimated whole civilizations for even less."

"I'm sure you have," she muttered bitterly.

He didn't say anything, but instead looked at her expectantly, studying her grief-stricken facial expressions.

Allura had never wept in Lotor's presence, but she felt like she could now. The possibility of revealing this moment of vulnerability to him angered her even more, but what could she do? She was helpless... absolutely helpless. Her weapon was gone, and no doubt his guard was up against any other means of escape.

Lotor noticed her eyes beginning to cloud over, and sighed inwardly. He had wanted her to come to a decision, but not this way.

Just as Allura thought that nothing would save her, Lotor unexpectedly released her. Rubbing her wrists, she looked up at him, blinking back hidden tears of surprise.

"Lotor... why?"

Sighing heavily, he crossed his arms and replied, "I don't know what to do. You won't come willingly to me, yet I can't force you to without my conscious conveniently making me feel guilty about it. What sucks about this whole thing is that you won't yield, and neither will I."

"Obviously."

"What will it take for you to say 'yes'?" he asked pensively, "Short of threatening to obliterate Arus, I mean. I know that you don't feel the same way about me as I do for you, but that can always change; it did for me. So what will it take, Allura? I obviously can't answer that question for you, so why don't you try?"

Allura uneasily looked up at him, and then back down. Lotor had released her, but his body was still exceedingly close to her own; there would be no way that she could avoid answering his disturbingly probing question.

"I... don't know," she answered truthfully, beginning to grow restless, "All that I can say is that what you are suggesting is impossible; I will not allow Arus to become occupied by your military again."

She watched as Lotor narrowed his eyes again in frustration.

_...Man, this guy does not like to be told 'no'!... _

"You know that this will not deter me," he informed her darkly, backing away slightly.

"Yes, I know...," she moaned, "You always say that, too."

Meanwhile, Lotor was busy searching the back of his mind for any other possible ways that he could find to get Allura to come with him. He hadn't been caught yet, but he didn't want to push his luck, and he certainly didn't want to return back to Doom empty-handed. There had to be another way... there always was one. Then Lotor's eyes flew open in realization.

_...That thing that Haggar gave me! I should still have it! Oh, man, pleasepleaseplease be there!... _

Allura shot him a confused look as he began to vigorously dig through his uniform in a desperate search for the drug that Haggar had given him. Where the hell could it be? Lotor soon got his answer as his fingers brushed across the familiar smooth surface of the box containing the powder.

"Alright, Allura, I didn't want to have to do this, but you gave me no choice," he stated, taking in a quick breath... Would it work?...

"What are you talking about?" she asked, curiosity and suspicion tingeing her question.

"You'll see," he said simply.

And with that, Allura's field of vision suddenly became enveloped by a massive cloud of psychedelic, emotion-altering dust.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 15**

Allura's mind was swimming as the chalk-like powder formed a thin haze around her.

_...What the hell did Lotor do that for?! And what is this stuff?!...,_ she thought in a confused daze.

Her nose began to itch furiously, and she soon felt the beginnings of a monstrous sneeze welling up within her.

Lotor watched her apprehensively. Would the drug still work?

_...For Haggar's sake, it'd better... _

Allura's chest began to heave, much to Lotor's interest, in an effort to contain the sneeze, but it was no use. Her eyes crossed oddly as she let loose an enormous sneeze, accidentally inhaling some of the dust in the process.

_...Yes!! Now it's just a matter of time..._, Lotor thought elatedly, visions of his future honeymoon dancing around in his head.

However, unbeknownst to him, Allura had accidentally blown some of the dust in his direction when she had sneezed. Still too busy fantasizing, he didn't notice as the drug innocently wandered into his system.

Meanwhile, Allura staggered towards a wall and immediately leaned against it. Her eyes crossing one more time, she wildly tried to figure out what had just happened.

_...Oog, I feel funny... _

Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, she slowly looked up towards Lotor's dancing figure, and saw... the most gorgeous specimen of a man that she had ever seen. His movements were infinitely graceful, while his mane floated behind him like finely spun silver. His hard, muscled body radiated sensuality in an almost animal-like manner. His azure skin was immaculate... flawless. And his eyes... Allura felt like she could drown in them. They were as exotic as any feline's, and seemed to possess a hidden knowledge. It was more than that, though. He commanded a fierce presence, one of power and strength. He was exquisite... and she had to have him. As her eyes narrowed hungrily, she felt all of her fear and resentment towards Lotor melt away.

_...Okay, what the hell is going on here?! What am I thinking?!..._, Allura thought madly, her eyes darting back and forth in a panic as her lips curled against her will into a seductive smile.

Finally, Lotor turned around and surveyed her, still cautious, but triumph clearly in his eyes.

"Well, my love, how do you feel?"

Allura sauntered towards him in a predatory manner, her hips swaying enticingly.

"I've never been better... lover."

_...I did not just say that to Lotor, of all people!! What's wrong with me?!... _

Lotor's eyes widened in surprise. He had expected Haggar's drug to affect her, but not in this way. Allura was now acting more like Merla than herself. Puzzled and uneasy, he watched as she sashayed even closer to him. However, all of his thoughts and concerns were swept aside as she stood in front of him.

_...God, she's beautiful... _

Lotor had dreamt of this moment for what seemed like an eternity, the moment that Allura would finally enter his embrace willingly. Okay, so it was a drug-induced willingness, but that was splitting hairs. She still stood in front of him, that same intoxicating smile gracing her face. Reaching out to touch a golden wisp that had escaped her braid, he slowly bent down to kiss her. She was finally his...

Before he could make contact, though, Allura uncharacteristically yanked his head down to her level and kissed him savagely. Lotor was stunned at first, but then managed to collect enough of his thoughts to throw his head back and wrest himself out of the death grip she had on him.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" he gasped, staring at her in bewilderment.

Instead of answering, she continued to stalk him, a lustful gleam in her cerulean eyes.

"I love it when you play hard to get," she purred, continuing to narrow the already shrinking gap between herself and Lotor.

"What?!" He was even more confused by now.

"You know what I'm talking about," she replied silkily, now within tackling distance of him.

For a reason unknown to himself, Lotor began to back away from Allura. He was at least a head taller than her and obviously much more massive, but for some reason... there was something about her now that was freaking him out. What was wrong with her? And further more, what was wrong with himself?!

_...Why am I backing away from her?! She's acting strangely, but... what could she do to me?!..._

Beginning to sweat, he unwillingly backed away even more.

"Um... you know what? I just remembered that I... uh... have some stuff I have to... take care of," Lotor stuttered nervously, looking around desperately for some avenue of escape, "You know... whipping slaves into submission and such... I didn't mean to bother you, so I'm going to kind of go..."

_...Did I just say that?! Me?!... _

Quickly going over everything that had happened, it suddenly dawned upon him why he was acting the way he was at the moment.

_...When Allura sneezed... she must have blown that stuff towards me... and I must have breathed it in, too!!..._, Lotor remembered in horror, _...Shit!! I can't believe that this is happening! I could kill Haggar right now!! Allura practically falls in my lap, and now I'm running away from her while she's trying to jump me!! It's not FAIR!!..._

In the meantime, Allura had paused in the midst of her stalking to reach into her nightgown for a controller of sorts. She then pushed a couple of buttons; the ominous sound of locks clicking shut echoed around Lotor.

_...She didn't!!... _

Immediately rushing towards the nearest window, he tried to pry it open, but it wouldn't budge. Looking fearfully over his shoulders, Lotor saw Allura strategically drop the controller back in her nightgown in a spot where he would have to frisk her in order to get at it.

"You're not going anywhere," she said, smiling craftily.

_...The irony of this situation is so sickening, I can practically taste it..._, Lotor thought, groaning inwardly.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 16**

"Uh... look, can't we talk about this first?" Lotor asked uneasily, trying to inch his way towards her doorway.

Ignoring his attempts to stall the inevitable, Allura managed to corner him, surveying him as a lion surveys its prey.

"What are you so afraid of?" she asked innocently, but the look in her eyes was anything but, "You know that you want me..."

Backing into the wall, Lotor realized that he was trapped, and began to fidget.

"Well, you know... um... this isn't something... that can be, ah... rushed," he stammered, stumbling over his own words.

Before he even knew it, Allura somehow managed to swiftly grab his uniform and hoist herself up to his level, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Shut up, Lotor," she replied coolly, "You talk too much, do you know that?"

She then kissed him possessively, opening his mouth with her own. Lotor was visibly twitching, his arms flailing in different directions.

_...This ...isn't ...FAIR!!... _

He felt like he was going insane. If only he could regain control of the situation, this would be a dream come true.

After a few moments, Allura reluctantly raised up from him, allowing him to breathe.

"Man, control yourself!" he pleaded.

"You enjoyed that, and you know it," she said smugly, looking into his panicky eyes.

He tried to avoid looking at her, but his attention became centered on her again when she abruptly leaned against his shoulder.

"The wedding will be beautiful..." she trailed off dreamily.

"W-W-Wedding?!"

"Yes, the wedding..."

"W-What w-wedding?!"

"Our wedding, darling!"

"Huh?!"

"There's that naiveté that I love about you," Allura groaned, leaning in towards his neck.

"I... uh... don't think that... that's such a g-g-good idea," Lotor faltered nervously, his attention becoming divided as she began to kiss his neck passionately, "I'm... uh... already married! Yeah! I'm married! So... that's why... I c-c-can't marry y- OW!! Did you just BITE me?!"

Raising her head up again, she gave him a smoldering look as she said in a low voice, "Run away with me, Lotor..."

"What?!"

"You heard me! No more petty excuses!" she ground out authoritatively, "I know that you want me, and you will belong to me! You can't stall any longer!"

Not liking the sound of that, Lotor panicked and tried once again to make his escape towards the door.

"Will you (Ungh!) look at the time? I (Ungh!) think I hear my father (Ungh!) bitching at me again," he quickly said as he moved around blindly, making several unsuccessful attempts at dislodging Allura from his waist, "I think (Ungh!) I have to be (Ungh!) going now!"

Through the combined efforts of Allura's added weight and his own stumbling, Lotor soon felt himself tripping and conveniently landing on her bed, with Allura, of course, on top of him.

"Like I said before," she replied smoothly, "You're not going... anywhere."

He opened his mouth to say something, but his words were cut short as she kissed him deeply again. Lotor, at the moment, barely struggled as he stared into space. Oh, the injustice of it all...

His attention became refocused as Allura raised up from him, a feral look in her eyes.

"What's my name?" she growled dangerously.

"What?!" Lotor was incredulous.

"Say my name, bitch!" she snarled at him.

"Al-Allura!" he pleaded helplessly.

"That's right," she smiled down at him arrogantly, "And who do you belong to?"

"Um..."

For some reason, Lotor's hesitancy to answer Allura's question pissed her off, for she then fell upon him like a wild dog. Kissing him wildly, she tore open the front of his uniform with surprising strength clear down to his abdomen, revealing the muscular body beneath.

Lotor's eyes widened in shock; he hadn't expected this action to come from Allura, of all people!

_...She's worse than ME!! I'll be the laughing stock of the universe if everyone finds out that the Princess of Arus tried to violate me! ME!! I have a reputation to maintain here! This has to end... NOW!!..._, he thought in horror.

With great effort, Lotor fought furiously against the effects that the drug held on him. If there was one thing he was known for, it was his renowned perseverance. Struggling internally, Lotor looked frantically around for something, anything that could help him before Allura managed to divest him of his entire uniform. Then he remembered the one smart thing he had done tonight- he hadn't come alone.

_...The communicator!!... I should still have it!... I 'd better, or else I'm screwed... quite literally, too!... _

Gritting his teeth, Lotor finally found the strength to regain partial control over his body. Abruptly dumping a surprised Allura off of him, he got up, shredded uniform and all, and practically ran towards the doorway.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Allura yelled shrilly, shaking her fist in anger, "You can't escape from me! Besides, we weren't done yet!!"

Ignoring her, he quickly fumbled for the communicator he had put in one of his uniform's pockets.

Finally finding it, he turned it on and desperately shouted into it, "Mogor, you idiot!! Release the freaking robeast! NOW!! And make sure that my fighter is in front of the Castle!!"

"Yes, Sire..." a voice sighed on the other end.

A few moments later, a grotesque thud, followed by an inhuman howl, shook the earth outside, reverberating throughout the castle's walls and causing the alarms to loudly go off. Not wasting any more time, Lotor hastily opened Allura's door and disappeared down the hallway. Hopefully, he wouldn't be captured.

Narrowing her eyes for the umpteenth time, Allura watched in fury as he ran out of her room. Lotor could run, but he couldn't hide...

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 17**

Sweat pouring down his back, Lotor continued to dash down the wide array of twisting hallways in the Castle of Lions, lost within a maddening cloud of confusion. He had no idea where the hell he was going, the alarms were still blaring loudly for the whole world to hear, and he couldn't think straight. Moreover, he could hear the pounding of castle guards and soldiers in the distance.

_...Damn it all to hell!! I am going to kill Haggar when I get back... if I can even get back at all!!..._, Lotor furiously swore to himself, _...This has to be the stupidest idea I've ever had!! And it's the last time I extort Haggar for one of her absolutely ingenious concoctions again... ever!!..._

Quickly ducking around a corner, he just barely managed to escape from being seen by a group of soldiers who sprinted by a few moments later. Heaving a sigh of relief, Lotor turned around and... ran right smack into his absolute favorite person in the universe next to his father.

"YOU!" Keith bellowed in shock and fury, pointing an accusing finger at him, "How the hell did you get in here again?!"

Lotor would have gladly massacred him right where he stood, but right now he didn't exactly have the time to spare for such a leisurely activity. Swearing some more under his breath, he got back off of the ground.

"That's none of your concern, fool," he growled at him, staring him down in an intimidating manner, "Now, get out of my way before I make you!!"

"Where's the Princess?!" Keith demanded, eyeing his torn uniform suspiciously, "What did you do to her?! If you've so much as even touched her, I swear that-"

"Look, I didn't do anything to her!!" Lotor yelped in a higher pitch of voice than he had intended, "Just- Just k-k-keep her away from me!!"

_...ARGH!! I did NOT just say that!!... _

"Huh?!" Keith cocked an eyebrow at that one.

Lotor was getting more and more enraged by now, but he was also growing increasingly desperate at the shrinking amount of time left for him to escape. And right at that moment, he heard something through the still-screaming klaxons that made his blood freeze.

"Oh, Lotor..." a female voice sang melodiously.

_...Crap!! It's Allura!!... _

And of course, Keith was still staring at him dumbly, blocking his only path of escape.

"Listen, asshole! I said get out of my way!!" Lotor shouted in panic, swiftly decking the Commander of the Voltron Force in the face.

With a grunt of pain, Keith collapsed to the floor. Wasting no time, Lotor jumped over his fallen body and continued in his escape from the scorned Arusian princess.

_...That was almost... therapeutic... I'll have to do it again someday..._, he reflected in awe as he tore down the rest of the hallway.

Within a few heart-pounding minutes, Lotor finally found what he was looking for - a window. Rushing towards it, he hurriedly opened the latch and saw that the castle lake was directly below. Good enough. Then, to his dismay, he also saw that it was a thirty foot drop. Although he possessed few fears, heights happened to be one of them.

"Oh, Lotor... where are you, Pookums?" Allura's voice somehow managed to surface through all of the terrible clamor again, and she was evidently encroaching ever closer towards his location.

Lotor's breath caught in his throat.

_...Pookums?!... _

Either way, this was enough to spur him into action. He may have been afraid of heights, but he was no coward. Taking in a huge breath of air and muttering a silent prayer, Lotor lunged out of the window and managed to plummet to the waters in a somewhat graceful dive. Surfacing for air with a loud gasp, he immediately shed his boots and the pitiful remains of his uniform before beginning to swim as fast as he could for shore. The probability of Allura jumping in after him was slim, but he still wasn't going to take any chances.

Eventually, Lotor dragged his sputtering form to shore, looking like a drowned rat. His hair was plastered to his face, water was dripping from his body, and he was clad in nothing but a brief pair of shorts. Shaking his head in an attempt to get his hair out of his face, he looked up in amazement to see the scene of pure chaos that lay ahead of him.

The Castle of Lions was at full alert; klaxons were still going off, and Arusian soldiers were all over the place. Meanwhile, the robeast that had been released not too long ago was wreaking havoc everywhere that it went.

_...I know that that thing is going to be scrapped in probably ten minutes, but, man, Haggar has really outdone herself this time..._, Lotor whistled in appreciation.

Truly repulsive to behold, the hulking beast stood at least a couple hundred feet tall. Bristling with spikes and gargantuan, long claws, it resembled a disproportioned reptile more than anything else. It looked impressive enough, to say the least. Letting out a brutal roar, the robeast, now the brunt of laser fire from the castle, swung furiously at the four Lions that were currently buzzing around it.

_...Wait a minute! Four?! Where's the other one?!..._

Squinting, Lotor tried to make out which Lions were currently battling the robeast.

_...Okay, there's Red and Black Lion... I think that's the Green one... That's definitely Yellow Lion... And then that means..._, he pondered shortly before his eyes widened in realization, _...Where the hell is Blue Lion?!..._

Not wanting to wait and find out the answer, he darted away from the shoreline in a frantic search for his fighter.

_...It's gotta be here someplace... it just has to!!... _

Looking over his shoulder every few seconds, Lotor halfway expected to see the Lion right behind him. At the last moment, though, he finally spied the familiar sleek craft out of the corner of his eye and heaved a tremendous sigh of relief.

_...Oh, Mogor, I could kiss you!!..._

Running gratefully over to his fighter, he popped open the hatch and dived inside, strapping himself in. Quickly shutting the hatch, Lotor powered up the craft and allowed himself to relax as it rose in the air. He was home free at last...

When he finally gained enough altitude, he guided the fighter towards the main star cruiser of his fleet. Once there, he could land in the main docking bay and everything would be alright again. At least he hoped.

_...That drug of Haggar's had better not be permanent!!..._

Lotor cringed at that thought. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life fleeing away in terror from Allura. It didn't seem... right.

His thoughts were then abruptly interrupted as his main view screen turned on, revealing a familiar face.

"Oh, Lotor, Lotor, will you ever learn?" Allura replied, shaking her head in a disappointed manner, "I've said it once, I'll say it again. You aren't going anywhere."

Panic seizing him again, Lotor looked over his shoulders yet again and scanned the horizon for Blue Lion. Where the bloody hell was she?!

He didn't have to wait long to receive his answer. Blue Lion was pursuing him directly from behind, closing in for the kill.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 18**

"EEEE!!" Lotor squealed just shortly before clapping his hand over his mouth.

How had she managed to catch up with him so quickly?! Sweat beading up on his forehead once again, he tried to swallow the large lump in his throat, but, for some reason, his mouth grew unreasonably dry.

_...Damnitdamnitdamnit!! This isn't good!... Oh, man... _

Noting his panicky silence with a hooded look, Allura smiled lightly.

"Now, now, Lotor... If you think you can escape from me, then you have another thing coming," she replied languidly prior to examining Lotor's lack of clothing with an arched eyebrow, "But I must say, you do look especially good right about now."

"Hey, watch it!!" barked Lotor, baring his teeth, "I never even got this good of a look at you!"

Allura then pointed towards herself, her lips cast downward in an adorable pout and her eyes wide with faux innocence.

"Who? Lil' ol' me?" she simpered before she grinned widely once again, "Well, if you wanted a look all this time, all you had to do was ask!"

Still wearing that malicious smirk, Allura made a move to pull up her uniform top in order to flash him, but he promptly squeezed his eyes shut, which was not at all effective for good piloting.

_...Can't look! Can't look! I'll never get back if I do!... But I wanna look! I wanna!!... _

Struggling with himself for a moment, he compromised between the battle betwixt his hormones and the little common sense he did possess, cautiously peering under one of his eyelids. He witnessed her pause and consider something in the midst of her action, her hands still clutching at her uniform.

"No, I don't think that I'll do this right now," Allura reasoned, staring thoughtfully out into space, "We'll have more time to ourselves afterwards, and it'll be more fun that way, too."

Gritting his teeth against words that he never thought that he would utter towards her, he mumbled with much effort, "Not... if I can... help it... You'll have... to ugh catch me... first..."

_...What in the universe am I saying?! I didn't mean it! I didn't mean it!!..._, the words bounced back and forth in Lotor's thoughts like a useless mantra.

In the meantime, Allura had temporarily broken out of her obsessive compulsive mode to wink mischievously at him.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Gulping, Lotor immediately increased the speed his fighter. He had to make it back. Or else... well, he didn't quite know what. Actually, what would happen if she was successful in capturing him? He paused for a moment, reflecting on the intriguing possibilities. Had Allura ever considered the same question when things were still normal and he was the one pursuing her?

His concentration was soon shattered into pieces as his ship reverberated with a massive shake, the result of Blue Lion performing a graceful double- barrel roll over him and swatting him in midair.

"Damn it! Stop that!" he yelled venomously.

Normally, he kept his temper in check while piloting, but he had never quite had to outrace a drugged up, neurotic woman before, either. Did he always behave that way while he was still chasing Allura?!

"You never cease to amuse me," Allura's peals of laughter were both musical and malevolent.

"However, I do grow tired of this," she added in a more serious tone, "It was fun, but now I am bored. It's time we end this. I've got our entire wedding to plan, you know."

He almost rolled his eyes at that one, but the outstretched claws and loud, synthetic roar of Blue Lion directly behind him forced him to speed up.

_...Where the hell is my fleet?!... I never noticed how much Allura has improved in piloting that insipid Lion of hers..._, Lotor observed in a rush of harried thoughts as she matched him in almost all of his attempts to outmaneuver her, _...Geez, where's my fleet?!..._

No matter what move he made, he seemed unable to shake her.

Effectively smothering a yawn in the meantime, Allura's countenance appeared bored.

"Lotor, you try my patience," she replied plainly, filing her nails, "Just surrender! It would be so simple and-"

"Damn it, Princess! Where are you?! We need you out here!!" Her comm came to life with Keith's enraged shouting, interrupting her, "I know you're out there somewhere, so get back to the Castle... NOW!!"

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 19**

Lotor saw her eyes darken as she quickly spat out, "I will when I feel like it. I have more important things to take care of now, so if you'll excuse me, mind your own damn business, Keith!"

"Wha- What?! What could be more important than your planet's welfare?! I don't know what's gotten into you, Princess, but we need you to form Voltron. You will return to the Castle immediately, and that's an ord-"

"Silence, monkey!!" Allura shrieked authoritatively, cutting him off, "I am the princess!! You will obey me!! Now mind your own business!! I'll come back when I feel good and ready to!!"

"WHAT?! What's wrong with you?!" Keith sputtered in disbelief, "Look, Princess or no, you're still under my command, and you're coming back here, even if I have to drag you over here myself!! No one undermines my authority, not even you!!"

"Ha! Just watch me, you-"

Chuckling to himself, Lotor switched off his view screen, all of his previous panic forgotten. This was the perfect distraction; Blue Lion had conveniently halted in midair. Leaving Allura to her argument with the commander of the Voltron Force, he silently flew on in the general direction of his fleet, whose outline was now visible in the dark skyline.

_...I have no idea how long she'll be kept occupied, so I might as well get this over with now... _

Flipping on his comm, he quickly stated, "Kuunalda'a, this is the Sauche'en requesting entry to dock."

After a few moments of silence, a male voice responded.

"Please enter in the authorization code."

"Uhhh...," Lotor stared at the keypad near his fingertips.

_...What is it again? Ugh, I should be able to remember something this idiotically simple... _

Sighing, he turned around in his seat and... saw the unmistakable outline of Blue Lion in the distance again, hot on his trail. No doubt that Black Lion wasn't too far behind her, either.

_...Shit!! Not again! Doesn't she ever give up?!... _

"Aw, crud...," he stared wildly at the keypad, his fingers itching to enter in a code that he simply could not remember.

"Please enter in the authorization code," the voice mechanically repeated.

Now frantic, Lotor whipped his head around again. Allura was closing in on him.

"Please enter in th-"

"I HEARD YOU!!" he snarled viciously, "Who the hell do you think this is?! Just open the damn hatch if you know what's good for you!!"

"S-S-Sire!! Ha-ha... heh... Why didn't you just say so?!" the voice babbled hastily, "I-"

"JUST OPEN THE HATCH, ALREADY!!"

"Oh, uh... yes, Sire!"

_...Why do I have such stupid underlings?!... _

His star cruiser now loomed before him, the hatch to the docking bay slowly hissing open.

_...Come on, come on! Can't these things open up any faster?!... _

After what seemed like an eternity, the hatch was finally open. Ecstatic, Lotor guided his ship in, bypassing the airlocks. Glancing over his shoulder once more to be safe, he saw, much to his alarm, that Allura was still pursuing him. She was actually going to try and board the cruiser!!

"Oh, for the love of... CLOSE THE HATCH!! CLOSE THE HATCH!!"

"Yes, Sire..."

Not wasting any more time, Lotor quickly docked his fighter, glad to be in familiar surroundings again. He almost kissed the ground, too, after leaping out, but he quickly regained his composure before he could do so. Turning around, he watched with baited breath the race between Allura's speeding Lion and the incredible slowness of the hatch closing. Which one would make it first?!

Each moment that passed seemed like an hour.

_...Come on, come on!!... _

After what seemed like an ice age, the hatch finally inched shut again, and none too soon; a half second later, Allura collided into it from the other side, creating a massive Lion-shaped dent in the bulkhead.

Lotor immediately felt like dancing, _...Yes!! I'm saved!..._

He privately hoped that Allura hadn't been hurt, but he was also relieved that he had escaped both her and the embarrassing effects of Haggar's powder.

Breathing a long-deserved sigh of relief, Lotor cracked his neck and finally took a good look at himself. He was drier than he had been earlier, but he was still dripping water in some places. His mane was also in a wild disarray, plastered to both his back and his face. And then there was the lack of his uniform, which would be exceedingly difficult to explain...

_...Oh, well... I suppose it can't be helped... _

Throwing his head back to get as much hair out of his face as possible, Lotor marched out of the docking bay and towards the bridge with as much dignity that he could find intact. Hopefully, no one would see him.

A guard soon passed by him, though, abruptly saluting him. He immediately did a double take at his superior's appearance, but Lotor's fierce glare stifled any laughter that might've accidentally slipped out of him. Swallowing nervously, the guard quickly jogged past him, but then slipped on one of the puddles of water that Lotor was trailing behind him. Swearing under his breath, he hurriedly extracted himself up off of the floor before running off again.

Lotor smirked as the guard disappeared around a corner. He may have looked like an idiot at the moment, but his presence was still intimidating, nearly naked or not.

After a few more very similar incidents, he neared the bridge. A hush of muted fear and sniggering settled upon everyone present as their future ruler swaggered into the room sans uniform, as if this was an everyday occurrence for him.

Ignoring the strange looks he was receiving, Lotor stopped when his commander suddenly stood up and bowed deferentially towards him.

"Uh... did you forget something this morning, Sire?" Mogor snickered, barely concealing a sardonic grin.

"No, not really. This just felt like such a refreshing change, I just had to try it out right now," Lotor replied with a thin smile, hiding the fact that his uniform was really hibernating somewhere at the bottom of the lake that surrounded the Castle of Lions, "I would suggest that you try it, too, but I think everyone has seen enough of you already."

Turning towards the side, he then punched an unfortunate guard in the solar plexus, causing him to double over in pain before vomiting profusely on the floor.

Returning his mocking gaze back to Mogor, he said lightly, "Keep your smartass remarks to yourself. Oh, and go clean that mess up, will you?"

Mogor looked distastefully at the puke on the floor.

"Ugh... Yes, Sire..."

"See that you do."

As his commander went to grab a mop and some paper towels to clean up the other guard's mess, Lotor marched towards his command chair and sat down. Raising an eyebrow, he saw that everyone was still motionless, staring at him.

"Well, what are all of you looking at?" he shouted, "Get back to work!"

And like magic, the room was filled with activity again; they had learned long ago not to question the eccentricities of Doom's royal family. Smirking to himself, Lotor leaned back, allowing himself to relax for the first time in what seemed like hours.

Sure, tonight had been crappy for him, but there would always be another opportunity for him to make off with Allura again. Haggar's prototype spells and potions were almost always temporary, so there was an excellent chance that this one would be, too.

_...If not, I'll personally feed her to her own robeasts... Better yet, I think I'll kill her damn cat first and make her watch, and then I'll feed her to her own robeasts... _

Either way, he was still the Prince of the Doom, and he had a reputation to maintain.

_...I wonder how Allura's doing right now..._, Lotor pondered, now that he was safe from her clutches, as he closed his eyes, _...I hope that she's having a better time with all of this than I am..._

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 20**

With a growl of fury, Allura jerked Blue Lion out of the gigantic dent in the cruiser's bulkhead that her previous collision had created.

"Damn it!" she swore vividly to herself, "I was so close! He was right in the palm of my hand! I almost had him! I-almost-had-him!!"

In the deep, inner recesses of her mind, however, Allura was mortified beyond belief, unable to listen to her own possessed ravings.

_...I did not just do what I think did!! Oh, my God... and Keith! How the hell am I going to explain this to him?!..._

As if to disagree with herself, her fingers steepled together in a most calculating manner as she methodically stated, "Okay, think, Allura, think..."

_...I am thinking, you idiot, unlike you!! Geez, why can't you - I mean, I - snap out of this?!..._

"... It won't be of any use trying to get at Lotor now, since I obviously can't, but I'll get him next time...," she trailed off diabolically, "He can't hide forever... And once I finally corner him, I'm gonna-"

As if on cue, her view screen came alive with Keith's furious countenance to interrupt her very important musings, yet again.

"So, there you are! Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" he exploded in rage, "All of us are putting our lives out on the line to fight that robeast, and here I find you traipsing around Lotor's fleet!! You not only disobeyed my orders, but you're also making yourself vulnerable to capture! Haven't months of dodging His-Royal-Pain-in-the-Ass taught you anything yet?! WELL?! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Allura smiled back winningly, her features a facade of blamelessness.

"Whatever do you mean, Keith? I had managed to damage Lotor's ship, so I was simply flying after him to finish the job. If we captured him, we could have used him as a tool to bargain for Doom's surrender. I didn't mean to disregard your orders earlier, but I nearly had him. Unfortunately, though, he still escaped," she finished with a cute scowl of disappointment, not entirely faked on her part.

"Uh, why would Lotor try and escape from you?" Keith inquired dumbly, his anger diffused for the moment, "Wouldn't he try to-"

"P-l-e-e-e-a-a-a-s-e, Keith! You have to believe me!" she begged, her eyes now enormous with false tears.

"Well..."

Allura continued to gaze at him soulfully with those watery, large eyes until he finally sighed in resignation.

"Fine, Princess... I believe you. We have to get back to form Voltron, though; I don't know how the other guys are holding out."

Her smile lit up with the over-exaggerated sweetness that was characteristic to most stereotypical anime princesses.

"Oh, thank you, Keith!!" she gushed, "This will never happen again; I promise!"

Keith sighed again.

"It had better not. Just follow me."

She looked out into the distance and immediately spotted the familiar outline of Black Lion.

"Alright, I'll catch up to you in just a second."

Allura cast a lingering gaze towards Lotor's cruiser before speeding her Lion up in order to rejoin Keith.

Lotor still belonged to her... It was only a matter of time...


	3. Opposites Attract, Ch 21 To 30

**Disclaimer:** Voltron and all of its characters and settings are copyrighted by World Event Productions, Ltd. and Toei Animation Company. Original characters and plots are the brain-children of me, the author. I am in no way affiliated with the aforementioned companies. No monetary profit is being made from this work, and no copyright infringement is intended. Please do not do not repost or reuse this work without obtaining my permission first. Thank you.

**Author's Note:** This is an old, old fanfic written back in the day when I was a wee fanbrat on a long-term caffeine high. Consequently it is rather long and convoluted and a little silly. There may be a couple OOC's here and there, as while I like Princess Allura's character, she was admittedly a wuss in the series. It was like, "Come on, girl, stand up for yourself!" And that's when I caught myself yelling at my TV and decided to write this sprawling fanfic. At any rate, I hope that you enjoy it.

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 21**

"Sire, do you wish to engage in pursuit?" a nameless henchman spoke up as the forms of Black and Blue Lion began to disappear from sight in the view screen.

Lotor wave his hand dismissingly.

"Let them be."

"Uh, if we allow them to escape, Sire, that could mean... that we'll, um... lose... again..."

"I SAID let them be! I am fully aware of the consequences of their escape!" he ground out warningly, "I'll be the one answering to my father, not you, if that robeast is destroyed, so just shut up and do your job!!"

"Yes, Sire..."

Leaning back against his seat, Lotor sighed heavily once more before staring thoughtfully out into space.

_...Man, I just want to get back to Doom so I can camp out and wait for this stuff to wear off... If it wears off..._

Tiredly plopping his large hands into his lap, he was somewhat startled when he felt a small lump in one of the pockets of his shorts.

...What the hell?...

Quickly fishing through the pocket, he was astonished to see his hand surface with that damn box (Look, Ma! A plot hole!) containing Haggar's drug enclosed within his fist.

_...YOU!!..._, Lotor seethed hatefully at the box, as if it were an animate object, _...This is all YOUR fault!!..._

He stared at the small container with such ferocity that it should've burst into flame within a few moments, but it didn't. As it winked innocently in the gleam of the overhead light, Lotor unexpectedly knitted his prominent, white brows together in thought.

_...Wait a minute... Shouldn't this thing be at the bottom of the lake along with the rest of my stuff?! So, what's it doing up here with me, then?... _

He slowly turned the box around in his hand, examining the way the lightly methodically reflected off of it.

_...Hmmmm... This thing could still have its uses, though... Might as well not let it go to waste..._, Lotor pondered as the first hints of a smile, albeit a sardonic one, curved across his lips, _...This'll definitely come in handy for shoving down Haggar's scrawny, little throat..._

"Sire, the rest of the Lions have just arrived at the Castle to engage in combat with the robeast," another anonymous technician informed him.

_...No, really?... _

"Switch to the main view screen," Lotor ordered, tactfully choosing not to voice his sarcastic thoughts as he pocketed the box again.

The order was promptly carried out, and all of the crew members in the room were treated to a spectacular view of the Castle of Lions and their beloved robeast in all of its glorious carnage.

As if sensing their intrusion, a second, smaller view screen abruptly popped up.

"Lotor, you coward!!" the commander of the Voltron Force raved, a murderous glint in his eyes, "Always sending a robeast out to do your dirty work!! Why don't you come down here and do the damn job yourself?!"

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 22**

Effecting an exaggerated yawn, the Drule prince casually reclined his head back on one arm, regarding Keith with the same fascination he would give a bug splattered on one of the cruiser's many windows.

"Hey, look, it's not every day you see a Lion with two assholes," Lotor replied flatly.

"That's just like you...," Keith sniffed, "Throwing insults from a distance like a craven, little snake, too afraid to face me man-to-man."

"Really, Kogane. Never mind that I could tear you into pieces if I chose to, but I could say the same thing about you hiding like a pathetic child behind Voltron every time that we attack, which, I might add, you do. But, on the other hand, I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that you do look good in black and blue."

"What?! What are you talking about?!" the alarm on Keith's face was quite apparent as he tried frantically to cover up the now-obvious huge black-eye on his face, "I-I-I fell down going through the transport! That's how I got this - Honest!!"

Lotor almost doubled over in laughter.

"Right, right..."

"Yeah, well, at least-"

Lotor leaned towards the side and lightly replied to Mogor, "Cut the transmission. He's wasting my time."

"Yes, Sire."

"Hey!! I see what you're doing down there! You can't cut me off like I'm some common peon! You can't-"

"Too late," Lotor smirked as Keith's image disappeared.

Now that the annoying commander's interruption was over, the conspicuous shuffling of the crew members gathering around the main view screen to watch the impending action became more apparent. Lotor tried to ignore the fact that popcorn was soon being distributed among everyone, but then thought 'What the hell?', and hunkered down in the command chair with some himself.

Yeah, so they would go back to Doom empty-handed, but he would at least get a halfway decent, if not predictable, show before he would be groveling at the foot of his father's throne again; the night's events had really diffused his usual conquering mood.

"Oooo, I remember this part," piped up a guard between mouthfuls of popcorn.

Lotor rolled his eyes.

...I think it's high time father improved the draft requirements...

The Lions were still flying around the reptilian beast, but it was obvious they were about to form that damned robot that had given Zarkon constipation for so long.

"Hey, patch another connection through! I wanna hear what's going on!"

"Idiot!! You just know that they're going to be all like, 'Let's go, Voltron Force!'," another soldier finished with an overly-sissified voice on the "Let's go, Voltron Force!".

Despite the latter's protests, a connection was patched through, and, true to his words, a resounding "Let's go, Voltron Force!!" rang through everyone's delicate, pointy ears.

All of the crew members, technicians, and whatnot booed and threw bits of popcorn at the view screen as the individual Lions began to morph and combine into Voltron's separate components. Lotor himself laughed when several other guards mimicked Keith during his usual tirade of "DYNOTHERMS CONNECTED, AND MEGATHRUSTERS ARE GO!! FORM FEET AND LEGS!! BLA-BLA-BLA- BLA... AND I'LL FORM... THE HEAD!!".

And of course, like almost all of Haggar's previous creations, the robeast was just stupidly standing there, watching Voltron take shape in all of its entirety.

"Hey, Mogor, I bet you 50 credits that that robeast will only last 3 minutes before it gets the Sword in the gut," a technician offered, almost jokingly.

"You're on, Ra'ul."

Finally, Voltron was formed, complete with a sparkly background.

The robeast snapped out of its catatonic stupor, roaring loudly before charging after the outdated, but still imposing, mecha. Voltron dodged out of the way, making the monster trip over a small hill and land face-first in the castle lake. With a shriek of pure fury, though, it rapidly got back to its feet.

The robeast did turn out to be somewhat intellectual, well, for a robeast, since it didn't charge blindly at the robot again. Instead, it inhaled a huge breath of air, making its body swell up to an even more massive size. Right when it looked like it was about to burst, a volley of spikes along its back dislodged themselves, scoring a direct hit on Voltron's torso.

"WOOHOO!!" a majority of the crew cheered, even though it was obvious who was going to lose tonight.

The roughhousing continued for a couple more minutes before the mighty Arusian mecha finally decided to dispense with the pleasantries. The famous Blazing Sword was formed, and the poor robeast was eventually filleted.

"Ouch, that's gotta hurt," a nameless guard muttered through his popcorn.

"That was exactly two minutes and thirty-five seconds, Ra'ul - pay up," Mogor demanded.

"Aw, man!"

Stretching his arms out, Lotor was satisfied to hear his back pop.

"Well, we better head back. Good show, though."

The rest of the popcorn was consumed in a hurry before everyone reported back to their stations and their duties.

Whipping out some Chap Stick, Lotor proceeded to apply a thin layer to his lips.

"What are you doing that for, Sire?" Mogor inquired curiously, unaccustomed to seeing his superior perform such an action.

"Eh, it's business, as usual," Lotor concluded with a groan, "You'd be amazed at how dry your lips can get when you've kissed my father's ass as many times as I have."

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 23**

Lotor's fleet arrived back at planet Doom without much fanfare, which was exactly how he wanted it to be. Not that he would've received much fanfare, anyway, since the whole mission was technically a failure, but that was all besides the point... He simply wanted to escape Zarkon's notice for as long as he possibly could manage.

After exiting the cruiser, the Drule prince immediately made a beeline for the sanctity of his harem, knowing fully well that the first place his father would look for him would be in his suite.

As he wound his way through the virtual labyrinth of hallways within Castle Doom, Lotor bumped into yet another random guard. Before he even realized what he was actually doing, he suddenly bunched up the unfortunate guard's uniform in his fist and yanked him up towards him.

When his face was within millimeters of his own, he managed to state, with the eloquence and tact that was typical to most Drules, "Listen, worm... I'm tired, I'm pissed of, and I wanna get hammered (drunk, sloshed, whatever), and unless you want your vocal cords slashed, I suggest you not tell anyone where I'm at, especially that witch or my father. Understand?"

Beginning to sweat, all the guard could do at the moment was nod dumbly.

"Good," Lotor smirked as he released him as abruptly as he had grabbed him.

As the guard scrambled on all fours out of the hallway, a look of relief flashed briefly across Lotor's face. Maybe, just maybe, that was the last person he'd have to deal with for the next hour or so.

Wasting no time, he made his way past the vast harem doorway, but what he didn't notice was the innocent, blue cushion, evidently left behind by someone or other, lying on the floor in his direct path of travel.

The last thing Lotor could recall was the sensation of his skull splitting open (no, not literally, of course) as he elegantly wiped out on the cool, marble floor.

* * *

Gradually, the whirling fuzziness in Lotor's mind began to fade away as the sharp, but inviting, smell of jasmine and water lilies assaulted his senses.

...Wha-Where am I...?...

The dim sound of murmurs, giggles, and soft peals of laughter now trickled like water into his tapered ears. Lotor tried gingerly to lift his now- bruised head, but then let it plop back into what suspiciously felt like a woman's lap out of exhaustion.

...Ah, God, my achin' head...

Slowly cracking open his saffron eyes, he found himself being smothered by a pair of scantily-clad breasts. Normally, this would not have bothered Lotor at all, but knowing where the hell he was first would kind of be nice.

Wincing as he gently touched the back of his head, he managed to shift himself up to a sitting position without too much trouble. Opening his eyes a second time, he discovered that surrounding him were a plethora of scantily-clad women blinking at him curiously.

_...Oh, yeah... Duh, I'm in my harem... _

The only intelligible reply that Lotor could even think of at the moment was a listless "Oh, uh, hello, ladies..."

The harem members continued to stare at him until he waved their attentions away with an unenergetic hand. With that done, the room gradually buzzed with gossiping and random chatter again.

"Oh, my poor Prince," a low voice suddenly clucked in a concerned fashion from behind him, "What has happened to you now?"

Lotor recognized the voice as the owner of both the lap he had laid in and the cleavage that had obscured his view earlier.

"Ugh, you saw what happened, didn't y-," he groaned shortly before a pair of hands began to massage his aching temples, "Ah, oh, yeah... That's the stuff..."

The woman's laughter was soothing and almost musical, like Allura's.

"Yes, yes... I must admit, that was quite graceful of you."

"Uh, huh... Sure..." Lotor, his attention span now that of a can of cat food, barely heard any of her words as she continued to work her magic.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 24**

"Your Highness..."

"Wha?"

"Your Highness?"

"Wha...t?"

"Your Highness!"

"What?!" Lotor's eyes flew open in annoyance, then in curiosity, as another woman with raven hair and sinuous contours addressed him.

"Is," she took in another deep breath, "There anything I can get for you?"

"Wine," Lotor almost begged, and then used a word that was practically foreign to his vocabulary, "Please?"

The woman looked at him oddly for a moment, smiled at being bestowed with the honor of one of the Prince's first polite words, and then went off to retrieve the much-desired alcoholic beverage.

His mind returning to where he was at the moment, he nearly melted into a puddle as the woman behind him began working her way down his back. Now he remembered her name. Druna. She had the most skillful hands out of anyone in the harem.

Eventually, the other woman returned with the bottle of wine, and Lotor slowly stood up, stretching his impressive physique. Turning around, he casually faced the woman with the magic fingers and set another record for the day by saying, "Thanks."

Druna's mouth hung open in mock surprise.

"Well, well, well... it seems some of us have finally learned some manners, after all."

"Shut up..."

"On second thought, I think I take that back," she replied wryly, her hands on her scantily clad hips.

Lotor rolled his eyes and smirked knowingly. This woman was one of the few people he knew that actually possessed a sense of humor.

Druna was Drule hybrid, like himself. However, she had a long, dark-red mane, which was now held back in an ornate braid, full lips, and the most marvelously liquid, amethyst eyes. She rather resembled Merla.

...Except she's not a psychopathic bitch...

Contrary to popular belief, his harem did not consist solely of blonde-haired, blue-eyed Terran women; they actually were only a small percentage of the entire group. Of course, there were other Terran women among them, but there were other Drule hybrids, like Druna, tossed in there, as well.

"Excuse me, Your Highness, but there's just a teensy question I've been meaning to ask," Druna suddenly inquired, disintegrating his contemplations, "Where's your uniform?"

Lotor shot her a strange look, realized the fact that he was still in his skivvies, and then smacked himself in the face.

_...Damn, I forgot about that... I knew it was getting a bit drafty... _

Druna was still eyeing him, awaiting an answer, when realization suddenly dawned upon her.

"Oh, I think I know," she trailed off with a suggestive grin, gesturing towards her curvy body and barely-there clothing, "Was that a sort of time-saver, or something? Did you want to... you know, right now?"

Lotor, for the moment, was incredulous.

"What? That?!" he laughed, "I'm missing my clothes because... well, it's none of your damn business."

"Uh, huh..."

But, of course, Lotor being Lotor, he just had to say, "As for the other thing, that would be a nice diversion..." as he leaned in towards her neck.

Druna arched an eyebrow.

"Really..."

"Really," he murmured as he abruptly lifted her up into his arms, passionately kissing her collarbone.

Druna's only reply was a slight moan as he began to work his way up.

"I don't think that Allura-woman of yours knows what she's missing..."

Lotor paused only after he lightly nipped the hollow of her neck.

"Do you have any idea how many times I've told her that myself?!"

"Nuh-uh..."

"Exactly."

Her eyes still closed, Druna managed a sardonic grin of her own.

"Egotistical bastard."

Lotor didn't even blink.

"Conceited skank."

"I love it when you talk dirty to me..."

He laughed softly into her hair.

"Hey, less talk, more walk!" she ordered jokingly.

"Yes, ma'am."

With that being said, Lotor made his way towards a room in the back. Hell, this was an even better way to unwind than what he originally had in mind.

* * *

"That...," Druna panted under the sheets, "Was amazing..."

Lotor said nothing as he rolled over towards her and began to kiss her again with a renewed fervor.

"What? Again?!" she exclaimed, "You animal!"

Smirking to himself, he continued to work his way down as his hands slid up her legs with a tantalizing slowness, until...

"Prince Lotor, your father requests your presence in the throne room, immediately." The comm above the bed loudly buzzed to life.

"Ah, damn," Lotor growled as he rose up from the woman, "I didn't think they'd find me so fast..."

"Do you have to go now?" Druna pouted, her unkempt hair obscuring her features.

"'Fraid so," Lotor muttered as he rolled off of the bed and started pulling on a spare set of clothes, "But it's not like this is something I haven't done before... But when I do get it done, I have a certain witch to strangle."

"Why?"

"L-o-n-g story."

"Sure..."

Lotor managed one more half-smile before he bent over and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"See you later."

Druna gathered the sheets around her as she too stood up.

"Same here."

Now finally dressed, Lotor carefully picked his way out of the harem, avoiding the pillow he had wiped out on earlier, and made his way down to the verbal spanking that awaited him in the throne room.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 25**

Zarkon was pissed off. He was very pissed off. Actually, he was more than pissed off; he was absolutely infuriated. Mumbling incoherently to no one in particular, he rapidly paced back and forth in front of his throne, his cumbersome muumuu... er, robes trailing behind him.

"Where the hell is that idiot now?!" he snarled to himself, "Augh, he's probably still off screwing around in that harem of his... I should have had that boy neutered long ago while I still had the cha-"

"Talking to yourself again, Sire?" a familiar cackle interrupted him, "You know, I have something that could take care of that."

Without so much as even flinching (which he was sorely tempted to do), Zarkon turned gracefully around to see his advisor and sorceress, Haggar, emerge from the shadows.

"What do you want, witch?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," she tittered as her familiar, Coba, affectionately rubbed its head against the hem of her cloak, "I just wanted to see if my King and Shnuggie Bunny was alright."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, the Drule monarch shuddered profusely.

"Ugh, don't call me that... don't ever, ever call me that again... Now, if you don't mind, leave me be."

"Eeheehee... Yes, Sire..."

Still snickering to herself as if she knew something that he didn't, Haggar melted back into the shadows just as suddenly as she had appeared.

As if on cue, that pathetic excuse for a maggot he had somehow managed to father swaggered into the throne room just then. Zarkon began grinding his teeth in anger once more. The fool was strutting around as if he had conquered a brand-spanking new galaxy, rather than lose to that backwater planet again! Normally, he found this arrogance in Lotor endearing, even cute, when tens of thousands of slaves were being shipped in every week, but now it was just irritating.

"Well, well, well, I'm so glad you found time to pencil me into your oh-so-busy schedule," Zarkon said acidly, idly drumming his fingers along the edge of his scepter.

"Oh, it was no problem," Lotor replied blandly, examining his unkempt mane for split ends, "I just had to finish up with some business. What can I do for you?"

"You know perfectly well, brat," he ground out in a deceptively friendly tone, beginning to descend the steps from his throne, "I want to know why the hell you wasted perfectly good resources tonight on that planet! I mean, come on! From what I was told, you didn't even try!"

"Oh, THAT!" the humanoid prince feigned stupidity, "Well, just between you and me, I think that robeast was defective. I don't know, maybe Haggar dropped something into the formula when she was still mixing it."

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Zarkon strode furiously over to him and effortlessly lifted him into the air with a fist.

"Don't mock me, you insolent whelp!" he barked harshly, "I have sat idly by while you squander countless resources in your feeble attempts to take over that planet, that one insipid, little planet, that should have been within my grasp long ago. I built this empire with my bare hands, and now I find you undermining my very work just so you can have a roll in the hay with that... that...," Zarkon was so furious he was utterly at a loss for words, "GIRL!!"

Lotor wasn't even fazed. With a ridiculing smirk, he easily twisted out of his father's iron grip.

"Sounds like you're losing your touch, old man," he sneered, brushing unseen dust from his suit with his hands, "You may have built the foundations of this empire, but I am its longevity; I have conquered more for this empire than you ever have."

Zarkon's countenance flushed to an even darker blue.

"It would do you some good to learn some respect, boy..."

"For what? My record has been spotless until now. Okay, so I've taken a little bit longer than usual to take over a stupid planet, but it's nothing I can't take care of. I must admit that Voltron is an impressive piece of equipment, but, like you, it's almost laughably outdated; it's nothing that a few strategically placed robeasts wouldn't fix."

The fish-like king paused for a moment, fighting back the urge to simply snap the damn kid's neck in two, and decidedly switched back to his deceptively friendly tone again.

"If the solution is that simple, then why, pray tell, haven't you done it yet?!"

"Um... Because," Lotor, for once, didn't meet his piercing gaze, "I just felt that it wouldn't be necessary yet, that's all."

With a sweep of his crimson robes, Zarkon pretended to consider something, rubbing his chin methodically in mock concentration.

"Gee, I wonder why? Could it have something to do with... oh, I don't know... maybe, Princess Allura?"

"Possibly," Lotor replied shortly, beginning to fidget.

"Oh, Lotor, Lotor... Do you really think your dear, old dad that stupid?" Zarkon asked almost plaintively, his eyes widening to add to that effect, "Why, I think everyone in this blasted galaxy knows that you want jump that girl's bones; I must say, tact is one of the few things you do lack, but you more than make up for it with the thickness of your skull."

The prince sighed impatiently, casting furtive glances around the throne room; now this was getting way too personal.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 26**

"Maybe so, but it's just a one-time thing," Lotor finished lamely, "A phase, really."

"Oh, please, don't feed me that bullshit again!" Zarkon snorted, rolling his cat-like eyes, "According to you, this so-called 'phase' has lasted ten whole months! Ten! That's ten months of me footing the bill for forty-seven robeasts, a hundred ships, and countless soldiers gone right down the shitter, and those things don't come cheap!"

He then quickly added, "You know, you're quite overprotective of a woman you claim you only want to add to your harem."

Lotor crossed his arms and stared defiantly at his father.

"And just what are you insinuating?"

"I'm 'insinuating' that you're a lovesick fool who's jeopardizing our very mission just so you can achieve some instant gratification! I could care less what you do with that chit, but your assignments come first! You never were like this before!" protested Zarkon, his tone laced with a growing undercurrent of malevolence, "If you continue to let this 'phase' interfere with your work, so help me, I'll have that wench brought here and beheaded before your very eyes."

Lotor's eyes suddenly contorted into two glimmering slits.

"You'll touch her over my dead body," he slowly ground out, clenching his teeth.

His face turning an even darker shade of blue, Zarkon hissed with an unholy fury, "That can be arranged! Don't ever presume to give me orders, whelp, EVER!! It's about damn time you learned your place! Just remember, I made you, and I can unmake you! And another thing-"

Zarkon was almost screaming by now while in the midst of his tirade, and Lotor had to pause and wipe spit that was flinging from his father's cavernous maw off of his face every few seconds, which did absolutely nothing to diffuse his own temper. However, he was accustomed to all of this; "unmaking him" and "putting him in his place" were just some of Zarkon's usual threats towards him, and, of course, they had ceased to have any initial meaning to him long ago.

"- ... I'll kill you!! You hear me, whelp?! KILL YOU!! And I'm gonna-"

Evidently, the Drule monarch did not notice the blank expression setting in on his son's face, which certainly meant only thing - Lotor was beginning to Space Out.

_...Why the hell does he keep on calling me whelp?!... I'm twenty-three, for crying out loud!..._

But, as usual, Zarkon's mouth continued to flap, and the prince's eyes took on a glazed appearance.

"-...Why couldn't you have been more like Yurak?! Sure, he sucked, but he at least never let himself be distracted by a mere woman!! On top of that- "

Smothering a mental yawn, Lotor continued to try and not pay any attention to Zarkon's ranting, but after twenty minutes, it soon got to the point where he was unable to ignore him any longer.

"And that's why you need to learn some respect, boy, RESPECT!! Why, when I was your age-"

"Oh, do shut up!!" Lotor snapped unexpectedly, his very last nerve rubbed raw with impatience.

Without even thinking, he drew Haggar's drug box out of his pocket in one fluid movement and quickly blew the white powder into his father's astonished face.

Zarkon paused in confusion as the chalk-like dust swept around him like pale sand in a... well, a sandstorm. Forgetting that he was supposed to be reprimanding his white-haired spawn at the moment, the aged king's eyes darted back and forth in a wild frenzy.

"Wha-What have you done to me, boy? You're trying to kill me again, aren't you?!"

Lotor chose not to answer that ridiculously redundant question, but instead stepped back and watched in fascination as Zarkon's body began to shake oddly, as if he were in a seizure. As the white powder finally started to float down and settle on the ground around him, his convulsing suddenly stopped, but his chest then began to expand in an attempt to keep in what appeared to be the onset of a sneeze of truly gargantuan proportions.

"Whe-Whe-When I fa-fa-finally get a h-h-h-hold of you," Zarkon gasped, his eyes watering as he reeled towards a wall in an effort to regain his bearings, "I'm ga-ga-going to tear y-y-you apart so ma-ma-much, they'll need t-t-tweezers to pa-pa-pick up the pa-pa-piec-... Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah- CHOOOOOOO!!"

Lotor wisely ducked for cover under a nearby table as a sneeze that should have leveled Castle Doom to the ground, but luckily didn't, tore through the air above him. Unlike last time, he also fortunately remembered to hold his breath as he did so.

Peering cautiously over the edge of the overturned table, he saw, as the dust cleared, Zarkon's still body lying on the cold ground. He apprehensively walked over to it, wondering if the impossible had really happened... Had the old dinosaur finally kicked the bucket? Lotor wasn't sure if he should jump up and dance, or do something else.

"Wow, I think you really are dead," he echoed as he kicked his father's hand in a final effort to see if it would move or not, "I guess I'm running things from now on."

Lotor almost yelped in surprise when he felt the hand suddenly close around his foot.

"The day I let you run things," Zarkon muttered feebly as he struggled to get up, "Is the day I take off Haggar's underwear with my teeth again..."

Lotor was so shocked he didn't even say anything; he simply stared. How was his father able to resist the effects of the drug?

Apparently, he spoke too soon as Zarkon abruptly fell silent again. Lotor bent over and studied his features a bit more carefully. What was happening this time? Nothing really unusual was going on, except for the fact that his eyes were now going crazy. The Drule prince again watched in fascination as the king's pupils dilated, contracted, dilated, contracted, dilated, contracted, and finally dilated again into heart-shapes.

"Sonny boy!!" cried Zarkon jovially as he shot up and embraced his son in a hug that threatened to crack his ribs, his pupils still in that odd, odd heart-shape, "Where have you been my whole life?!"

Lotor gasped for air as his lungs threatened to collapse.

"Groveling (Gasp!) underneath (Gasp!) your throne (Gasp!)!"

"Ah, you're such a kidder," he laughed, affectionately tousling Lotor's hair, "I love you, son."

_...God, what am I saying?!..._, Zarkon thought in horror, inwardly puking his heart out.

Lotor blanched and looked like he was about to ralph at that moment, too.

"Wha-What did you say?!"

Zarkon giggled like a school girl.

"You heard me, silly! I l-o-o-o-ve you!!"

The prince just about fainted at that. The last time Zarkon had actually called him "son" was when he was sixteen, and him saying "I love you!" was just like Allura saying "Do you want me on top or underneath you?" - it just wasn't something that would seem likely to happen in reality.

In the meantime, Zarkon had released him, granting him a steady air supply again, and was now glancing at him quizzically.

"Are you alright, son? You seem a little pale..."

Lotor, now standing unsteadily, greedily sucked air into his burning lungs before answering.

"I'm, uh... fine..."

"Are you sure?" Zarkon's large, webbed ears wiggled slightly in concern, "Can I get you anything?"

"The throne would be nice," Lotor stated half-way sarcastically as he straightened out his clothing.

"Done!"

"Uh, huh...," muttered Lotor, still straightening out his suit, "That's ni- Okay, what did you just say?!"

Zarkon blinked at him with a child-like innocence.

"If the throne is what will make you feel better, than you can have it. After all," he was now affectionately pinching Lotor's cheeks like he was a five-year-old, "What my wittle boy wants, my wittle boy gets!"

Lotor coughed and spluttered in disbelief as he wrenched himself out of his father's grip.

"YOU'RE SERIOUS?!"

"Now, Lotor, what have I said about yelling in the castle?" Zarkon frowned lightly, "Yes, you can have the throne, but only if you're a good, little boy. I'm beginning to think I should retire now, anyways. Now, is there anything else you might want?"

"How about a new fighter?" Lotor inquired apprehensively, suspicion tingeing his voice.

Zarkon shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal.

"Sure, why not? It'll cost me a few billion credits, but nothing's too good for my baby boy. Anything else?"

Lotor paused for a moment, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. A crafty smile then slid smoothly across his features. He knew that this probably would not last, but he could at least have some fun with the situation.

"Bow down to me."

Zarkon obediently clambered down onto his knees and pressed his forehead into the marble flooring. Lotor drank in the image, forever preserving it into his memory for a time when he might need a good laugh in the not-so distant future.

"Now, kiss my foot."

The Drule king grinned dorkily and obligingly proceeded to give the world's sloppiest kiss to Lotor's boot.

"Ugh, on the other hand, I didn't really need that boot," Lotor muttered in disgust as he shook off the drool-covered footwear and tossed it into a distant corner of the throne room, "Now, uh... say what I really think of you."

Zarkon plopped down on the ground and replied with gusto, "I'm a stupid, lazy slob who's fit only to be robeast fodder."

"And?"

"Ummmm...," Zarkon scratched his head momentarily, "Oh, yeah! I'm a stupid, lazy slob who's fit only to be robeast fodder and I don't know my own ass from a hole in the ground!!"

"Good boy!" Lotor stated condescendingly, throwing him a stale cat treat (he stole it from Haggar when she wasn't looking), "That was very, very good of you!"

If Zarkon had had a tail, it would have been thumping on the ground right now.

However, Lotor did have a short attention span, and however much he was enjoying giving orders to his own father, he was growing surprisingly bored with the situation already. As he tried to think of a final task for him to do, Zarkon was devouring the cat treat on the ground as if it were a rare delicacy.

"I got it!" Lotor stated as a new idea dawned upon him, "I want you to go clean up after the robeasts in the arena, but you're going to have to do it," he then withdrew a teeny, tiny pooper scooper (don't ask where he got it from) from one of his pockets, "With this baby here!"

Although Zarkon was under the influence of a mind-altering drug, even he faltered at this suggestion.

"Um, d-d-do I have to?" he pouted, the expression on his face making him look utterly stupid.

"Yes, 'Daddy', you do," Lotor replied firmly, handing him the pooper scooper, "Who else would do it? Now, go."

Rising slowly up from the ground, Zarkon took the ridiculously small pooper scooper in hand and reluctantly trotted off for the robeasts awaiting him at the arena.

Lotor then collapsed onto the ground himself and laughed hysterically for about fifteen minutes before he was able to regain his bearings. Wiping away a tear, he stood back up with as much dignity as he could muster.

_...That was so freakin' priceless!! That almost cancels out what happened between me and Allura, so I just might not strangle Haggar, after all... well, at least not right away, anyways... _

Stretching his arms, Lotor suddenly realized just how tired he was. Well, maybe it wouldn't hurt if he took a nap in his rooms before he killed Haggar. She was a witch, after all, so she probably already knew what he was going to do to her.

Yawning, he casually made his way out of the throne room and to his suite of rooms as if what had transpired between he and his father had never really occurred.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 27**

While Zarkon was probably getting waist-deep in robeast excrement at the arena, Lotor had tripped and stumbled his way up to his rooms. He felt almost as sleep-deprived as Allura had obviously been during his weekly break-in of her bedroom. That had certainly not gone over well...

His bedroom was just about as opulent as the rest of Castle Doom. The same shiny, black marble and crimson draperies were still present, but a massive, finely-wrought bed with rich, blood-red sheets dominated one corner, along with a set of doors that led out to a balcony with an amazing view of, but of course, Arus in the perpetually dark horizon.

Another corner of the room hid a forbidden item- a 16 month calendar of random, sometimes risqué, shots of Allura that Lotor had managed to buy from an anonymous person off of eBay. He was particularly fond of January, which showed Allura skinny-dipping in the castle lake. You couldn't quite make out all of the details, but it was still a pretty damn good shot, nonetheless. Lotor had no idea who had the balls to take those pictures without the spirited Arusian princess's knowing, but he could probably place his money on the Voltron Force's second-in-command, what's-his- face... Lars? Landon? It didn't really matter.

With all of his previous thoughts aside, Lotor tugged off his shirt and crashed onto the bed in a princely manner. The sheets were still messy, but he didn't care; they were like that half the time, anyway. Pulling the covers over himself, he was suddenly startled when his hand passed over a suspiciously female-shaped contour under the sheets next to him.

"Oh, is that you, Druna?" Lotor inquired tiredly as he began to pull the covers off of the woman's outline, "When did you get in here?"

"Who's Druna?" the woman demanded jealously.

"Geez, what kind of stupid question is that?" he muttered under his breath, but loud enough for her to hear, "Now get out from under there. I want to get some sl- HOLY SHIT!! HOW THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE?!"

For when he had completely lifted off the sheets, it revealed not a woman with red hair and pointed ears as he had expected, but one with blonde tresses and blazing, blue eyes that were now all but too-familiar to him.

Allura smiled, no, smirked at him coyly.

In an echo of his previous words, she slowly stretched out her arms as if she had just woken up and casually replied, "I was bored, and I figured that you must've missed me by now..."

Her movements, however leisurely they were, made him nervously scoot as far away from her as his bed would permit. Although he hadn't received as heavy a dosage of Haggar's infernal powder as she had, he was still suffering from the brunt of it, and judging from the glint in Allura's eyes, she still was, too.

"Aren't you going to say hello?" she asked with that faux innocence again, brushing back a few unruly strands of hair with a careless hand.

Lotor didn't say anything, but a light sheen of sweat did break out across his azure skin.

"Well, then, I guess I'll have to do it, instead," Allura grinned wickedly as she pulled the covers off of herself, "You know, that was very rude of you earlier, escaping like that..."

The Drule prince was still statuesque, frozen with shock, but as Allura began to stealthily crawl towards him, the sheer gravity and irony of his situation descended upon him again with a sickening weight. The woman he was in love with, or pretty damn close to, but who normally screamed bloody murder whenever he got near her, was in his bed, pursuing him, with him running away like a craven, little coward whenever she got within 15 feet of him. It was enough to make Lotor puke, but for some reason, his throat felt unreasonably constricted.

And of course, there was the question of how she had managed to get through Doom's planetary shielding in one piece, sneak into the castle without being caught, and still somehow locate and break into his suite in all of the mess. However, it looked like Allura, who was now uncomfortably close, was more interested in other things than in answering questions at the moment

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 28**

Like a circling vulture, Allura suddenly dived for him. Caught off guard, he landed flat on his back; evidently, he had not scooted as far away from her as he possibly could have earlier, as there was still further room on the bed. Now straddling his abdomen in an exceedingly domineering manner, she wore an ever-growing smirk that he knew for a fact mirrored one of his own. It looked uncharacteristic on her face, and yet still oddly seductive.

"Well, well, well, now doesn't this look familiar... Do you think we should pick up where we last left off?" Allura asked smugly, not really awaiting an answer as she eyed his predicament with a humor that he didn't care to appreciate at the moment, "As I was saying, that wasn't very nice of you to keep me waiting like that..."

Lotor was growing more nervous. He tried to move his leg, twitch a finger, anything, but his body simply refused to respond.

_...Damn it!... Not now! Not again!!... _

Meanwhile, Allura watched the interplay of sweat and panic across his face with a wry look of amusement. Tightening the vise-like grip her thighs held on his midsection, she languidly leaned forward closer towards him, offering him an excellent look at what her towel had hidden from view during their last encounter a week ago. She was, as always, surprisingly voluptuous for her height, but her smooth curves were now accentuated with a sapphire-tinged bra and the skimpiest underwear imaginable. Despite his panic, Lotor was momentarily surprised that they weren't pink.

As if reading his mind, Allura winked at him suggestively.

"In case you were wondering, I've recently discovered that blue is now my new favorite color."

Lotor would've rolled his eyes at that one had they not currently been staring at her heaving chest. ...Did everything she say always have to reek of innuendo?

She continued to gaze at him mischievously, but when she still did not receive a vocal response from him of any kind, she abruptly became nettled. Narrowing her cerulean eyes, she straightened up and partially hauled him up with her, swiftly placing a hard, but sensual, kiss upon his lips.

"Hey, lover boy! Aren't you going to say anything?!" Allura flared indignantly after releasing him, "You can't just ignore me! I did travel a few light years to get here, after all, so the least you could do is say something!!"

Lotor landed back on the bed with a surprised "Oof!". Briefly shaking his head, he decided to humor her before she did anything else drastic, which she looked like she was about to do.

Wetting his lips, he tried to phrase his question without stuttering.

"Uh, h-how did you get in here?"

Offended, Allura placed her hands upon her hips and tilted her head to one side, glaring at him self-righteously

"What, that's it?! No 'Hey, how's it going?' or 'When's our wedding?'?" she huffed, but then blew some more bangs out of her face in reluctant resignation, "Ugh, men! Very well... You know, I'm only being lenient with you because you're my future husband and all... After we defeated that stupid robeast of yours, I managed to sneak off in Blue Lion without the guys noticing me, and I parked it in your hangar. Then I snuck up here in the disguise of a harem girl, which wasn't too hard to do, as you can see," she gestured towards her skimpy, blue attire, "And speaking of... how can you let your harem girls go around the way they do?! They must be freezing half the time! The AC in here feels like it's cranked up almost all the way!"

Despite his current situation, Lotor was able to let slip a crude comment of his own.

"Oh, I manage to keep them warmed up..."

This time the eye-rolling was on Allura's part.

"As I was saying... men!!" she snorted in exasperation, but then her lips curved back into that smile of hers that was a blend of both innocence and sensuality, "Well, now that we managed to get that all cleared up, what say we get back down to business, hmmm?"

And Lotor knew what "getting back down to business" meant. Desperately sorting through his thoughts for a moment, he spluttered out the first question that came into his mind.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 29**

"Wait a minute!! Um, I mean, uh... how, uh, d-d-did you get past the... the... ah, planetary shield?!" Lotor stammered oddly as he tried to ignore the encroachment of Allura's ever busy hands.

The Arusian princess paused in just enough time to shoot him an impatient glance.

"What, again? Ugh!" she exclaimed, "Hey, wait a second... I get what you're trying to do, you naughty boy! You're trying to stall me again, aren't you?" she condescendingly waggled a finger in front of his fidgety countenance, "Well, it's not going to work because you're simply stalling the inevitable, so you might as well relax. Don't worry, I'll be gentle..."

Lotor inwardly laughed at that statement. Not only was it ironic, but in her current condition, Allura's idea of "gentle" probably involved leather and a whip.

"Ow!!"

He was brought back out of his reverie as Allura raked her nails down his tightly muscled abdomen, making him involuntarily clench his teeth. That hurt! It was pain, he had to admit, but it was exquisite pain. God, if only... if only...

But it wasn't. Lotor squared his jaw. This, all of this, was merely a messed-up illusion from the messed-up drug of a messed-up witch. Allura wasn't herself, and neither was he. Even if he was, if they did end up going through with the act, Allura would probably hate him and herself if the drug wore off, which was something he didn't want to happen. Her hating him, that is. With a mental sigh of resignation, he prepared to undertake one of the hardest tasks he would probably ever have to go through in his life.

Suddenly, his saffron eyes snapped open as he felt Allura fiddle around with the fly on his pants.

"Okay, now let's just get these babies off of you, and..."

"Hey, get your hands out of there!!" he protested as he shot out of the bed, accidentally knocking her back.

Folding her arms, she huffed cutely and glared at him again.

"Will you stop doing that?! How do you expect me to get anything done? I don't have forever, you know, so you might as well accept your fate, like everyone else has. Yeesh, methinks the prince doth protest too much..."

Lotor again was briefly chilled. He vaguely remembered saying something similar to her a while back.

Meanwhile, Allura was still glancing at him incredulously.

"Well?! Get back up here so we can get back to what we were doing!"

Steeling himself, Lotor uttered the one syllable he had never imagined himself saying to her, "No."

"... What did you just say...?" Allura breathed in a low voice, almost daring him to repeat his audacious statement.

Crossing his arms as well, Lotor swallowed nervously.

"N-No..."

"You mean to say you're actually refusing me?" she asked in disbelief, "Nobody refuses me!!" Her blue eyes narrowed possessively.

His own closed momentarily, _...Geez, I've only done it, oh, I don't know, ten or twenty times already!..._

He cracked one of his eyes open again, and saw that Allura had jumped off of the bed and was now striding towards him in a calculated fury.

"When will you ever learn? We were meant for each other, Lotor...," Allura's tone was smooth, almost persuasive, but her eyes were still smoldering with anger, "Why are you being so obstinate? Things would be so much easier if you just gave in... You know you want to..."

"For the l-last time, no!! You're, um, not quite yourself, ah, at this moment," Lotor tripped over his own words as she neared him.

What an understatement!

Allura abruptly stopped and sighed in disappointment. Reaching behind her back, she withdrew, to his disbelief, an implement that made the hairs on Lotor's neck stand on end briefly - a wicked-looking cat-o-nine-tails.

Tapping the handle of the cat-o-nine-tails thoughtfully against her arm, she logically replied, "Lotor, you are being unreasonably uncooperative, and that's not good... and when you're not good, you must be disciplined... I didn't want to have to do this, but... Do you wish to be disciplined, Lotor?"

The Drule prince stood frozen, his eyes tracing each menacing flick of the individual aspects of the whip. He didn't know whether if he should be alarmed or collapsing on the floor with laughter. Probably both. The very idea of Allura, his Allura, holding anything resembling what she was currently holding was simply ludicrous. But then again, with that stupid drug of Haggar's...

"Well, Lotor, do you wish to be disciplined?" she said coolly, still tapping the whip's handle against her arm, "Answer me!"

Lotor was finding it increasingly difficult to keep a straight face. The whole situation was now spiraling into something that resembled a wet dream gone horribly wrong.

Pissed off at his inattentiveness, Allura cracked the cat-o-nine-tails warningly.

That did it.

"Give me that!!" Lotor demanded as he reached out and snatched the whip away in one swift movement, "Where did you get this thing from anyway?!"

Allura stood surprised for a moment, but she recovered her composure quickly enough.

"Oh, I stole it from one of the guards when I was walking through the dungeons getting here," she explained almost proudly, "Now, can I have it back, please?"

"No."

Allura frowned cutely. In fact, virtually everything she did was cute.

"I'm trying to be reasonable with you, Lotor, but you're being impossible. You've managed to rebuff every advance I make, but you're weakening; I can tell...," she stared into his eyes with an intensity that made him uncomfortable, "I'm only doing this for your own good since you refuse to come to me through any other means, you know... Maybe I should use a different approach, or maybe I haven't been direct enough with you yet..."

She hooked her fingers into the sides of her scant underwear and made a move as if to hike them down.

"N-No!!"

Suddenly, Lotor was there, pinning her down before she could complete the motion.

"Well, now, it's about time you changed your mind, darling," Allura simpered, suggestively rubbing her body against his own, "If I had known that this was what it'd take for you to come after me, I'd have done it ages ago."

And before he could react, she placed on him her most ardent, passionate kiss yet, lightly sucking on his lower lip. Lotor temporarily lost his equilibrium as he savored this moment, despite his conflicting emotions. God, if only this was real! But it... wasn't.

_...No, not like this!... _

That thought drove through him like a sharp stake. Gnashing his teeth in the utmost fury and disgust, he roughly let go of her arms and got back off of her, holding back several colorful words of frustration. This wasn't fair! Regardless of the effects Haggar's potion had on him, he was, in his own fashion, being the good guy, and what was he getting for it? A big, fat nothing, that was what!! It was true what they said: decency was a thankless task.

Meanwhile, Allura blinked at him in confusion, and then in annoyance.

"What is it now?" she inquired peevishly as she sat up and readjusted herself.

Lotor growled almost incoherently, "You have to leave... right now..."

Allura crossed her arms defiantly.

"And just how are you going to make me?"

Damn that girl's stubbornness, artificial or otherwise! Swearing under his breath, he quickly dug through the pockets of his pants until he surfaced with what he was looking for- the leather thong he often held his hair back with.

Resisting the ebbing side effects of the emotion-altering dust, he wordlessly stalked over to Allura's sitting form and flipped her over onto her stomach before she could shriek in surprise. He then straddled her backside and pulled her arms up behind her back.

"So you are into kink then, huh?" Allura turned her head back in his direction and grinned widely as he dexterously fastened her wrists together with the thong, "Oh, yeah, tie it tighter!!"

Lotor raised an eyebrow as she wriggled like a fish underneath his grip; he wasn't even going to ask. He checked once more to make sure that her wrists weren't bound too tightly, and then, with ill grace, hauled her up over his shoulders.

"Where's... Blue Lion?" he sighed with pent-up frustration.

"I'll never tell!" she vehemently countered, placing a well-aimed kick against his abdomen.

Closing his eyes, Lotor concentrated for a moment. Hadn't she said earlier where Blue Lion was? Where, though? As Allura continued to kick and flail, the answer eventually came to him. His private hangar.

Seeing that he was now heading for the door, the princess suddenly halted her erratic movements and blurted out, "You can't go through there! Everyone will notice me!! You're making a big mistake, Lotor!"

"Well, that didn't seem to stop you from breaking into my rooms!"

"I said I snuck up here, stupid!" she spat out.

"Oh... Well then, we'll have to do something about that then, won't we?"

Lotor marched over to his bed again and unceremoniously dumped Allura off on top of it. Jerking his blanket over her wiggling form, he ignored her muffled screams of indignation and sloppily wrapped her up within it. Satisfied that all of her identifiable features had been masked, he threw her over his shoulders again and headed off for the entrance to his suite once more.

Allura obviously decided to live up to her spirited reputation just then, as she was now kicking, screaming, flailing, squirming, and doing anything else she could think of to make it as hard as possible for him to carry her. Evidently, she wasn't going down without a fight, which was one of the many things he loved about her; she didn't take shit from anybody, even himself.

He swiftly made his way down to his hangar, ignoring the strange looks he was receiving from guards and soldiers in the process; Allura was making such a ruckus that he wouldn't have been surprised if everyone within Castle Doom was hearing her right at this moment. However, because of his disheveled state, they must have thought she was just an unruly harem member, so he was passed by unchallenged, although it did absolutely nothing to abate Allura's loudness.

"Damn it!! Will you shut up?! You're giving me a headache!!" Lotor hissed at the blanket covered figure flung over his shoulder.

In reply, Allura only wriggled and screamed more piercingly than ever.

"A'akva'oshi'tne!!" he cursed again in his native language, "You're doing this just to piss me off, aren't you, woman?!"

She yelled shrilly and pounded hard on his back with her bound wrists. Her way of saying "Yes".

With a roar of disgust and impatience that almost matched Allura's screams in pitch and frequency, he kicked down the door to his hangar, and lo and behold, there was Blue Lion parked neatly next to his fighter. Its hatch was even open.

Still snarling to himself, Lotor ignored the "L+A 4-Ever" graffiti that was spray-painted onto his ship and disgustedly stalked into the Lion, abruptly dumping the wriggling bundle over his shoulders into the pilot's seat. He then jerked the thick blanket off of the Arusian princess and strapped her in, but didn't even bother to untie her wrists.

Allura's hair emerged a tad disheveled, her breathing was ragged from all of her screaming efforts, and she hadn't even uttered a single intelligible word yet, but her eyes spoke volumes. They virtually burned in an oceanic maelstrom of anger, frustration, and... something else? Well, either way, he understood only too-well how she was feeling.

He quickly deposited the comforter back on top of her bound form; her skimpy attire did not do much in the manner of retaining body heat, and the interior of Blue Lion was rather cold.

Reluctantly yanking his gaze away, Lotor turned around and began to mess around with Blue Lion's console. The controls turned out to be not too much different from those of his fighter, so he was eventually able to enter in the coordinates for the Castle of Lions, which, by now, he knew practically by heart.

Angrily twisting his body back around, his glance fell once again on Allura. She still had not spoken, but it was obvious that she was still pissed as hell. He could empathize with her.

"You'll thank me later," Lotor said gently as he kissed her lightly on the mouth.

After setting Blue Lion on autopilot, he stomped out the hatch and slammed it shut behind him. Once at a distance, he watched to make sure that the craft exited the hangar and began its launch safely; if anything ever happened to Allura, he would never be able to forgive himself.

However, the Lion did safely launch, and it wasn't until it was an itsy, bitsy speck in the night sky that Lotor finally poured fourth all of his boiling, pent-up rage and fury into the most thunderous bellow ever heard on Doom.

"HAGGAR!! I'M GOING TO MAKE IT SO THAT YOU'LL WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN, EVER!!"

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 30**

While Allura was being unwillingly shipped off for Arus, a certain witch was grooming her familiar and demonstrating some very un-witchlike behavior in her lab.

"Alright, Coby-Woby, are you weady for Mommy to give you a wittle hair cut?" Haggar gushed in a sing-song voice, brandishing a pair of scissors that glinted dangerously in the overhead light, "Don't worry... it'll all be over before you even know it!"

In reply, the blue-furred cat cowered futilely in a nearby corner. This day came but once a week, but it was a day he loathed with all of his feline heart - Grooming Day. He may have once been an immensely strong demon _...Trapped in the body of stupid housecat, no less!!...,_ but nothing, absolutely nothing, could escape the sorceress when she wielded a pair of scissors.

"Come now, Coba, quit being a baby," sighed Haggar impatiently as she extracted the cat up from the floor and plopped him on a countertop, "I didn't do this last week, and now your hair is practically as long as Lotor's!"

To complete the indignity, she then stroked him along his abundant fur the wrong way. The familiar yowled in protest, but within moments, his lustrous, blue hair was reduced down to a mere fraction of its original length.

Discarding the scissors and picking up the newly-shorn Coba, her robe twirled as she danced around with him and cooed, "Now, don't you feel better? You're such a pretty kitty, yes, you are! And Mommy wuvs you so much! Yes, I do!!"

The cat rolled his golden eyes, but the next thing he knew, the witch had brought him up to face-level and was now grinning at him oddly.

"We're not done yet, though, are we?" she inquired impishly, obviously concealing something that she knew, but he didn't, "Can you guess what time it is? That's right- it's Bath Time!!"

She ducked her head in just enough time to avoid an incoming paw with claws extended.

"Eeheeheeheehee!! I knew you'd be excited about that!" Haggar cackled, continuing to hold him at a distance suitable enough to avoid his furiously swinging forepaws.

Coba watched in horror as the witch used her powers to conjure up a steaming tub of water frothing with, of all things, soap bubbles.

_...An all-powerful demon..._, the thoughts ran through his mind with an impending sense of dread and terror, _...Reduced to this!!..._

He struggled with a renewed vigor surprising for a feline, but it was of no use; Haggar eventually succeeded in dunking him into the foul liquid with a loud splash.

"You're going to be so nice and clean!!" she prattled, ignoring Coba's irate caterwauling and evading any pointy extremities, "Yesh, so nice and cwean!"

Just as she was about to reach for the shampoo, though, the ground shook and a small ripple formed in the water of the tub, making even the wildly thrashing cat pause for a moment.

"Hmmm, I wonder what that was? Probably just a tremor. Oh, well..."

She reached once more for the bottle, but the water ebbed as the floor shuddered yet again for some unknown reason. Haggar tried to disregard it, but the small quakes gradually picked up in strength and frequency; water was even beginning to slosh over the sides of the small tub.

Throwing down what she was holding at the moment, Haggar used the countertop to steady herself, "What the bloody hell is going on?! Are we having some kind of earthquake?!"

No sooner had the words escaped her lips did she receive her answer. After one particularly thunderous quake, the door to her lab virtually exploded open in a shower of metal shrapnel. Coughing as the dust cleared, all she could perceive at the moment were a pair of saffron eyes that burned worse than any all-consuming hellfire. She knew immediately who it was.

She spoke, and the name lodged itself in her throat like a piece of food, "...Lotor..."

And, indeed it was. The enraged prince of Doom deafeningly stomped in, his hair splayed about his shoulders like a wild lion's mane. The expression on his face could only be described as one of murderous rage. And for some reason, he was clad only in a pair of black pants.

"YOU!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, WITCH!!" Lotor roared in fury, still coming towards her.

"What is?!" protested Haggar, assuming a defensive position behind the countertop; she was almost used to the sudden temper tantrums Lotor was prone to, but she had never seen him this angry before. Whatever it was that had pissed him off, it must have been something else.

For some reason, Haggar's mere reply seemed to incense Lotor even further. His features contorting to mirror his growing wrath, he stalked ever closer towards her. He waited until his face was within inches of her own before he slammed his fists loudly into the countertop.

"I had her...," his breath, hot on her skin, was hoarse and thick with a thinly-contained rage, "... Despite the fact that I messed up on my own part, I could have had her..." He, of course, conveniently left out the part of Allura popping into his suite and him letting her go.

"What are you talking about?!"

"Who the hell do you think I'm talking about?!" Lotor flared.

Haggar's hand suddenly flew up to cover her mouth, "Oh... Oh, my..."

_...It figures that this would involve that damned princess... _

Sighing, she allowed her body to relax somewhat. This was not the first time, nor would it be the last, that the Arusian monarch was the source of the prince's myriad frustrations as of late. Reaching for her staff, she used it to steady herself as she slowly walked around the counter towards him, unafraid of him now that the source of his anger was discovered; she knew how to handle him.

Meanwhile, Lotor's unwavering gaze never left her.


	4. Opposites Attract, Ch 31 To 40

**Disclaimer:** Voltron and all of its characters and settings are copyrighted by World Event Productions, Ltd. and Toei Animation Company. Original characters and plots are the brain-children of me, the author. I am in no way affiliated with the aforementioned companies. No monetary profit is being made from this work, and no copyright infringement is intended. Please do not do not repost or reuse this work without obtaining my permission first. Thank you.

**Author's Note:** This is an old, old fanfic written back in the day when I was a wee fanbrat on a long-term caffeine high. Consequently it is rather long and convoluted and a little silly. There may be a couple OOC's here and there, as while I like Princess Allura's character, she was admittedly a wuss in the series. It was like, "Come on, girl, stand up for yourself!" And that's when I caught myself yelling at my TV and decided to write this sprawling fanfic. At any rate, I hope that you enjoy it.

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 31**

"So, what happened this time to get your hormones in such a knot?" Haggar asked dryly, smoothing out the wrinkles in her brown robe with one withered hand, "A slap in the face? A kick in the-"

"Shut up, witch!" he muttered acidly, cutting her off, "I used the damn drug like you suggested, and it... affected her..."

"Oh, so it does work, then?" she replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I wasn't finished yet!" Lotor snarled with the good manners he was universally known for, "But, yes, if you must know, it does work...," by now his palms had unclenched themselves, and they slid off of the countertop in self-admitted defeat, "However, I too... accidentally imbibed some of it..."

"...Really?" this time there was a spark of amusement in the old woman's yellow eyes.

"Yes, really, you stupid hag! Now quit interrupting me!! Stuff... happened, and she got... uh, a little fresh...," Lotor trailed off and started to fidget, too embarrassed to admit to the fact that a woman half his mass, at least, had almost forced herself upon him.

Haggar immediately caught on to his badly constructed nuances and began to laugh uproariously, leaning against her gnarled staff for support.

"Are you attempting to tell me that the princess you have been trying desperately for the past year to get in the sack has in turn tried to rape you?" she gasped, her vision blurring through the flood of tears now streaming down her face, "Oh, this is too much!! No wonder your mission was a failure!"

Lotor fought the overwhelming urge to slash the decrepit witch's neck.

Gritting his teeth, he said in a voice that dripped venom like honey, "Keep laughing, Haggar, and I'll make sure that you'll be practicing your craft in the bottom of the Pit of Skulls... Now tell me, why did you not inform me about the side effects of your little project?"

The echo of Haggar's snickers finally died away as she straightened herself out once more.

"You don't scare me, Lotor, so don't even try," she replied indifferently, mirth still edging her tone, as she shrugged off his death threat like it was simply some bothersome insect that was pestering her, "Remember, I tried to warn you about what the powder could do, but did you listen to me? No... As usual, you let that," she pointed towards his midsection, "Do the thinking for you, rather than that," she now pointed towards his head.

The alien prince looked like he was about to explode at that very moment, knowing fully well that she was right, but would never admit to it. He instinctively reached towards his side for his lazon sword (never mind that he forgot the fact that he had left it up in his rooms in the first place), but in a rare moment of self-control, though, he halted his sudden movements. Stilling himself, he closed his eyes and inhaled a few deep breaths before speaking.

"No, not this time, witch... You are not going to succeed in baiting me...," Lotor said evenly, calmly tucking a few white strands of hair behind a pointed ear, "So, why don't we stop wasting all of this time and simply get to the point- where is the antidote to your spell?"

"Why should I tell you anything?" Haggar scoffed.

A crooked grin spread across Lotor's face.

"Because," he fluidly grabbed Coba, who was still stupidly standing there in the tub of bathwater, and dangled him by the scruff of his neck, "I would hate to see how the absence of your familiar would affect your work."

Haggar's eyes widened in horror. "No, not my baby!!" she shrieked in a higher pitch than she had intended, "You let him go, right now!!"

Lotor disregarded the sorceress's protests and made a threatening move to snap the blue cat's neck.

"Oh, I'll let him go, alright," he informed her darkly, "If you don't tell me where the antidote is!!"

A moment of silence hung heavy in the air as the aged witch froze and stared into the prince's equally intense eyes. Was he bluffing? It was difficult to tell; his gaze was diamond-hard, virtually unreadable.

Meanwhile, her only weakness hung limply from his large hand, not even struggling for some reason. She could use her magic to try and rescue Coba, but not before Lotor got to him first; one twitch of his finger, and the cat's life, along with the main conduit for her power, would surely be severed. Over something this trifling, it just wasn't worth it.

Lowering her eyes, Haggar dropped her hands to her sides and breathed a heavy sigh of resignation, "Fine, you win, Lotor. Let him go."

"First tell me where the antidote is!" he rumbled menacingly in the back of his throat.

"There is no antidote-"

"WHAT?!" Lotor's grip on Coba's neck tightened instantly, making the cat's eyes bulge dangerously.

"-but if you'll let me finish," Haggar continued almost patiently, despite the interruption, "It does gradually wear off... I think in your case, it'll take about a week."

Lotor's hand relaxed.

"A week?!" he whined, "I can't wait that lo-," he then abruptly tightened his mouth into a thin line, realizing that that was the best he was going to get, "Fine, take your cat."

Coba dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, but then bounded over to the witch and leaped up into her waiting arms.

"Are you all right, baby?!" Haggar simpered, hugging the familiar so tightly all that came out was a strangled "...Mre...ow?", "Did that bad man hurt you? I'm so gwad you're all wight!! Yesh, I am!!"

Lotor watched this exchange with disgust. As the sorceress continued to lavish her pet with insipid baby talk, he brushed off the blue cat hair that had accumulated over his pants.

"If you don't mind, make sure I don't have any missions on Arus for a while," he stated briskly," For obvious reasons, of course..."

"Of course...," Haggar agreed in defeat before choosing to change the subject, "Where is your father, anyway? He hasn't been seen by anyone for the past hour or so."

This time a small half-smile curved across Lotor's lips, as if he were enjoying some private joke,

"Oh, I think he's dealing with some shit around the castle..."

"Alright, alright... Just get out of here, will you?" she huffed, still perturbed at being bested.

"As my 'Lady' commands," Lotor answered flippantly, giving a mock bow shortly before leaving.

If looks could kill, the one Haggar shot him would have left him disemboweled.

"Arrogant, little son-of-bitch..."

Turning around, the prince returned her venomous glare with yet another ridiculing smirk that she wished she could just wipe off of his face.

"Haggar! If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to kiss up to me!"

"Piss off, you brat!"

"And you kiss my father with that mouth?" declared Lotor with a feigned hurt pride, "For shame!"

The witch felt like she would implode at any moment, "Will you just shut up and get the hell out of here, smart-ass?!"

Laughing, the white-haired prince turned smartly around and sauntered out of the lab at a leisurely pace; the knowledge of knowing that both he and Allura would be back to normal within a week's time left him in good humor. However, he couldn't help but throw out one last insult.

"Hey, Haggar, you look good for your age - almost life-like!"

The sorceress conveniently tightened the death grip she held on her familiar.

_...Why does that little bastard always have to have the last word?!... Well, no matter..._

With that in mind, Haggar's temper slowly diffused when Lotor finally rid her precious lab of his infuriating presence altogether. Relaxing her grip, she lofted the blue cat up towards her face once more.

"Well, Coba, what say we forget about that idiot and... finish taking that bath?!"

That suggestion definitely put some reanimation into the poor familiar. After a close brush with death, this was the last straw. His claws slashed at the air with an energy born of renewed desperation, but Haggar merely giggled as if it were the funniest thing. Holding the wriggling Coba high above her head, she marched towards the small tub of water on the countertop, singing in a scratchy, off-key voice that blended in the air melodiously (at least in the opinion of a witch) with her cat's yowling:

"Oh, Zarkon, my darling, how I love thee!

How I long to drench wine on your naked bo-dy,

And s-l-o-w-l-y move my way down,

After you take off your great, big... uh, crown!

I will show you such pleasure,

It'll surely be the greatest (Ow, you damn cat! Don't scratch me there!!) ah... treasure!!

One day you shall again be mine,

I will really blow your mind!

I am one foxy femme,

And we'll have a nice session of S&M!!

I imagine the sweat on your... thighs,

And your yellow eyes... uh, er... hypnotize!

You must have come from above,

Oh, Zarkon, my love!!..."

Several windows cracked, but luckily, no innocent souls, except maybe poor Coba, were around to witness how little Haggar knew about poetry.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 32**

Princess Allura stared wide-eyed out the thick, glass windows of her Lion and into the aquatic environment that surrounded her, absentmindedly watching small shoals of brightly-hued fish weave brilliant patterns in the water. The dim moonlight that usually gave way to dawn filtered softly down from the water's surface.

Blue Lion had landed in the depths of the castle lake at least two hours ago, but her tough safety straps and Lotor's leather thong had held her into her pilot's seat good and tight. Of course, she had tried, cussing and spitting in an extremely un-princesslike manner, to wriggle out of her bondage long ago, but she quickly discovered that Lotor had used a Drule knot to bind her wrists, infuriatingly difficult to untie, but not so tight that it cut off the blood circulation. The only real way to nullify a knot like that was to use a knife, but unfortunately, Allura had not had the foresight to stash a dagger into her skimpy, barely-there attire during her bipolar rampage.

So, overall, all she could really do was stare around blankly and think about what she had just done on Doom, of all places, to Lotor, of all people. All but too-vivid memories of her straddling the Drule prince like a horse flitted about in her mind like thousands of hyperactive butterflies, mortifying her to the very core. Never in a million bazillion years would she, under ordinary circumstances, ever do something like that to anyone, especially to the man whose idea of sweeping her off of her feet was a slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am in her room right after breaking in and entering! What in the universe had he blown into her face, anyway?!

_...Come to think of it, that... drug of Lotor's must have been made by Haggar... I've got to give credit to that witch, this is some of the most potent stuff of hers that I've personally experienced... After all, it's practically turned me into Merla...,_ Allura thought with distaste, sticking her tongue out to show exactly how she felt about the self-proclaimed Queen of Darkness, _...However, it was nice to see Lotor sweat a little bit for once... That stupid jerk had it coming to him..._ A humorous smile, this time a genuine one, not a product of the sorceress's powder, flashed momentarily across the princess's face.

Allura sobered her expression immediately, though. Actually, for being such a stupid, narcissistic, megalomaniacal, perverted jerk, Lotor had acted surprisingly thoughtful and considerate towards her during her "visit" to Doom. Like her, he had also done something that he would ordinarily never, ever do (i.e. something nice)... she just knew he had... but that special something evaded her at the moment. Her memory was beginning to get so fuzzy it was now at the point where she could remember only the dumb stuff she had pulled. Was this another side-effect of the witch's drug? Probably not; it seemed her sleep-deprived state was quickly catching up with both her normal-functioning half, and her neurotic, drugged-up half. When was the last time she had gotten any rest?

_...Let me see... Lotor attacked last week, and again a while ago..._, Allura silently pondered to herself with her eyes closed, ..._I went to Doom right after that - I still cannot believe that I actually went there - stayed for a few hours, and came back here, I guess... So, is today the day Lotor attacked Arus, or was that yesterday?... Oh, God..._

The crap that Lotor had given her a dose of had evidently warped her sense of time along with her personality.

Sighing in disgust at both herself and the futility of her current situation, Allura collapsed, exhausted, back into her seat, knowing fully well that she was at the complete mercy of whoever stumbled into Blue Lion next. Most of the guys would likely never let her hear the end of it, and one in particular would probably use this as fodder for a good, old-fashioned blackmail. With Coran... Allura seriously had no comment. The only being that definitely put the spark of fear in the Arusian princess's eye was the unholy leviathan known as her governess. If Nanny caught her, she would no doubt spank her ass bright red for the whole world to see. Knowing her, she would probably even up the degree of humiliation by broadcasting the whole thing to every known stretch of the universe.

Allura winced at the mental image of Doom's royal court guffawing over the future ruler of Arus being taken over her governess's knee like a 5-year-old brat.

Banishing the ludicrous thought, Allura soon realized that she couldn't rescue herself from Blue Lion's cockpit. Her body deflated in defeat. Once again, she was undoubtedly doomed to play the part of the screaming damsel-in-distress who was there only for ornamental purposes.

_...Well, at least I'm not wearing pink this time..._

Allura forced herself to choke down the fact she would need rescuing, yet again, like bitter medicine. It punctured her ego to untold limits to admit to it, but she did need help. Normally, she would have adopted her usual gung-ho attitude and tried to rescue herself like some quasi-warrior woman already, but the fact she couldn't even get her chafing wrists unbound quickly grounded that idea. She needed help, alright, but it would have to be from someone who was sympathetic towards her, someone who actually possessed enough understanding not to tell anyone else the embarrassing circumstances surrounding her being tied up...

"Hunk!! That's it!" Allura cried hopefully, shooting up (well, as much as her safety straps would allow) from her seat, "He's the guy that I need!"

Hunk would rescue her! Underneath his gruff exterior, that gentle giant possessed a heart of gold. Of course, all of the guys were truly noble in their own ways, but Hunk was the only one she knew who wouldn't accidentally snitch her out. She would have to fib to him a little, but still...

Deftly maneuvering her feet to bring up the thick comforter that she assumed Lotor, in another unexpected act of compassion, had left onboard for her in case she got cold, Allura managed to cover herself somewhat before she strained her body forward and pressed the comm button on the console with her nose. Aside from being linked to all of the other Lions, the comms also had an automatic connection to Castle Control, where, hopefully, Hunk would be. _...For my sake, he'd better be!..._

Her view screen came to life, giving the princess a view of the wide, metallic expanse that was Castle Control. Allura peered into the dim lighting, but stifled a groan of disappointment when she sensed nothing. Nobody was out there...!

Just as she beginning to think that she would have to spend the remainder of the night in Blue Lion and face the wrath of Nanny in the morning, she spied a sudden movement on the screen out of the corner of her eyes.

_...Hunk?... _

Sure enough, this person's body shape was conveniently shaped like Hunk's and he was making a definite beeline towards the kitchens, the light offering tantalizing glimpses of a red sweat band and brown, flannel pajamas.

"Hunk!!" Allura was so ecstatic, if she hadn't been tied down, she would've fallen off her perch, "Hey, Hunk!"

But Hunk kept marching on, deaf to her pleas. Allura narrowed her eyes and peered closer into her view screen. Why was he ignoring her? It wasn't like him.

As he came nearer, she wanted to slap herself when she noticed the slack look on his face and the thin trail of drool that leaked out of the corner of his mouth – he was sleep-walking!

"Hunk!" Allura hissed loudly, pounding her feet against the screen, "Wake up, damn it! Wake up!!"

"What?"

Allura exhaled the deep breath she didn't even know she was holding in, "Thank God! I thought I'd never be able to wake you up!"

"What are you talking abou- Princess?! What are you doing in Blue Lion at this hour?! In fact, where have you been all day? We've been missing you since Lotor attacked last night."

"Ugh, l-o-n-g story," she sighed tiredly, grateful that her traitorous body was, for once, choosing to behave itself, "I, uh, went to- hey! Now, just waitaminute..."

Allura, her blue eyes still squeezed shut, hesitated. Hunk's voice... it didn't seem to be its usual deep tone. Instead, it was... lighter, more suave, with an oh-so-slightly sarcastic lilt to it.

_...Oh, good lord, please, please don't let it be him..._

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 33**

She cracked an eye open and nearly jumped out of her skin, her worst fears confirmed.

"LANCE?!" she shrieked and shrank back into her seat, feeling the knot around her wrists dig into her back.

"Yuh, who wants to know?" the Red Lion pilot answered nonchalantly, reaching up to take a swig of the milk carton he was carrying in one hand.

"Uh, er... uh... Wha-where's Hunk?!"

Wiping off his milk mustache, Lance regarded the general area the kitchens lay in with a casual wave of his arm, "I think he's raiding the fridge; I was just walking a few yards behind him. If you ask me, I think the big guy is sleep-walking again..."

Allura only heard about half of what he said; she was too busy sweating in momentary panic.

_...Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap! He's going to tell everyone!!... _

Lance, dressed in a pair of blue boxers, merely gazed at her quizzically with an arched eyebrow, still holding the milk carton in midair, "So... are you going to tell me why both you and your Lion went AWOL yesterday, and why you're ...sleeping?... in Blue Lion right now?"

_...Oh, sure I'll tell you..._, Allura thought spitefully, her wild alarm abandoned for a renewed anger, _...That stupid pig who passes himself off as royalty turned me into a sadistic bitch who chased him across the whole bloody galaxy just because his equally stupid master plan backfired! That's why I went AWOL, THAT'S WHY!!..._

However, she instead inhaled a deep breath before simply replying, "Okay, Lance, I'll tell you, but first I need you to get in Blue Lion and let me out."

"Why? Can't you get out yourself?"

"Um, no... I'm strapped in."

"So, unstrap yourself."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because... I'm kind of slightly tied up at the moment. Literally."

An expression crossed Lance's face, one that was an odd combination of his brow furrowing in suspicion and a wide smirk that once again resembled Lotor's a little too much for Allura's liking.

"Why, Your Highness, were you having a party in there that I wasn't invited to?"

"Augh!! Just get me out of here!" she detonated indignantly, "...Please?!"

Laughing softly to himself, he crossed his arms and shook his head in disbelief, "Fine, I'll come down for you, but you have to tell me everything that happened, and I mean everything."

* * *

The light footsteps of bare feet and the hiss of Blue Lion's hatch opening notified Allura to Lance's arrival. Already she could feel her plans to escape unscathed unraveling around her like a cheap sweater.

_...Well, here goes nothing... _

Screwing on the most innocent, plastic smile she could manage, she beamed at Lance when he at last sauntered into the Lion.

"Lance, ol' buddy, ol' pal, ol' compadre! Glad you could drop in!"

"Yep, I know you wouldn't know what to do without me," the pilot replied with a grandiose air, stretching his arms behind his head in order to flash her a gratuitous glimpse of his abdomen, "But, your savior is here at last. Please, hold your applause."

"My hero," Allura stated dryly, her artificial smile fading, "And I thought that Lotor was bad enough."

Grinning ear to ear, Lance was visibly preening his ego, "He only wish he were," his sharp gaze then fell across the blanket that covered her, "Random question, but may I ask where you got that? I don't think I've ever seen it before."

"None of your business," she scowled, choosing to change the subject, "Well, aren't you going to help a lady when you see one?"

"Lady? What lady?" Lance quipped, turning his head from side to side, "I don't see a lady anywhere in here."

"Please, Lance, stop, the hilarity is killing me," retorted Allura acidly, sending him reeling as she kicked him in the shins as hard she could, "I'm surprised you're piloting instead of doing stand-up right now."

Gracefully recovering from the blow, he stood up once more and ruefully massaged his left shin, "I suppose I deserved that... Okay, Princess, I'll get you out of here, but I can't do it with that blanket covering you."

"Yes, you can," Allura suddenly shrank back into her seat for some reason.

"Um, no, I can't."

"Yes, you can!" she complained, "I'm, uh... too cold!"

"Would you like some cheese to go with that whine?" Lance remarked in a plaintive tone of voice, sticking out his lower lip, "Face it, Princess, if you want out, that thing has to come off. I'd prefer not to have to grope in the dark. And besides," he added casually, squatting down to her level, "It's not like you're naked under there."

"Of course not, heh-heh-eh...," she stated with her teeth clenched in another Barbie-esque grin, "Whatever would give you that idea?"

"Nothing, nothing," he sighed errantly, waving a hand in an impatient gesture, "Just off with it already, would you?"

Worrying her lip, the princess of Arus was at a loss for what to do next. Each second that Lance continued to stare at her like she had sprouted an extra arm was a second less she could manage to stall him.

_...God, he's never going to let me live this down..._

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 34**

"Before I even do anything," Allura phrased her words very levelly, meeting his stare head-on, "You have to swear to me that you won't reveal to anyone what you are about to see or hear. I'm serious!"

"Why?" Lance, for the first time since setting foot in Blue Lion, was puzzled.

"Just swear!" she yelled, trying very hard to cage her pent-up frustration as she strained uncomfortably in her bonds, "I've had a long night, all right?"

Holding his hands up in defeat, he said simply, "Fine, I give. I swear. What's the big deal, anyways?"

"This is," Allura kicked off the blanket without too much gusto, revealing her scantily-dressed state.

Lance's pupils dilated as he first looked up, then down, up, down, up, down, and finally up again. Standing rigidly back up, his normal laid-back, smart-ass self resumed momentarily.

"Well, that's certainly a side of you I haven't seen in a while," he remarked almost indifferently, lightly rubbing his chin, "I must admit that I'm surprised you're not wearing pink right now."

"Lance, look at my face when you talk to me," the princess stated icily as she noted the direction of his gaze.

"Huh- what?" he shook his head like a dog who had been smacked with a newspaper, "Oh, sorry. Here, let me get me out of there."

Without making too many jokes or wisecracks, which Allura was grateful for, the Red Lion pilot skillfully maneuvered her out of her safety straps and the maddening knot that bound her wrists together. The minute her aching, sore hands became free, she dove for the only refuge she could immediately find - the thick, black comforter that she had kicked off onto the floor. She quickly wrapped it around herself so tightly, she might as well have been mummified within it. So what if it came from the blood-thirsty heir to a blood-thirsty empire? It was damn comfy. Almost as comfy as her own bed. Which she would be getting back to. Soon.

"Thank you, Lance," she breathed gratefully, carefully sitting back down in the seat that had held her prisoner just moments before, "You have no idea how long I've been down here."

"Would you care to enlighten me at all?" he said, his shoulders bent in that trademark shrug as his body leaned against Blue Lion's hull adjacent from her, "After all, I kept my part of the deal."

Allura nervously clutched the blanket even tighter around herself. Lance, of course, noticed this with mild interest.

"Well, you see, Lance, it's like this...," she trailed off slowly, licking her dry lips as she waited for the next random thing her mind could spew out, "I was just, uh, minding my own business when, all of a sudden, my Lion was... hijacked! Yeah, I was hijacked by... Merla! She... well... came aboard and stole... my uniform! And then she tied me up! And then... she left... with my uniform... So, yep, there you go! That's why I'm down here." Allura then finished her speech with the cheesiest grin imaginable, the kind that screamed, "Please, please say that you just bought that!"

_...Oh, yeah, Ally, that was real smooth..._

Inwardly, the princess quailed. She had never been very good at lying.

"By God! That's it!" Lance declared, slamming his fist into the hull as if he had discovered the most mind-blowing revelation of the ages, "Why didn't I see it before! The Drules aren't waging a galactic war against us because they want to expand their empire and loot and pillage to their hearts' content! They're just secretly jealous of our superior fashion sense!"

Shooting him a venomous glance, Allura just mumbled, "Oh, shut up, Lance."

Grinning, he crossed his arms and removed himself from the wall.

"You forget, Princess, that you're speaking with the resident lie detector of the team, here. Face it, you just can't kid a kidder. So, spill it."

Allura was crestfallen. "What gave me away?"

"What, aside from the fact you can't lie worth spit?" he laughed, "I don't think Merla will be breaking into Blue Lion and then returning it back to its proper place just so she can make off with your uniform any time soon. No offense, Princess!" he sobered his jesting tone upon noticing her fierce glare, "Er... that is, I think your tastes are little too advanced for her primitive mind-"

"You mean Nanny's tastes," she broke in, wrinkling her nose.

Unperturbed at the interruption, Lance continued, "Anyway, Keith mentioned you had been acting strangely, and that you had even gone off on your own to go after who I like to fondly call His-Royal-Pain-in-the-Ass, which is obviously very uncharacteristic of you. You then disappear off the face of Arus for an entire day, and just as suddenly as you had popped off, you're back- in the buff, well, almost, and tied up, with a Drule knot, if I might add," he took an experimental whiff of the air, "This whole thing reeks of Lotor, but if you ask me, something else weird must have happened, because if he had had his way, the Lion would have been sent back crushed into a fine dust, and you'd be getting some very rigorous exercise right now. So, all in all," he concluded, pointing his index finger in the air much in the way Pidge would after explaining the solution to a complex math problem, "It was simply elementary, Princess."

"Wow," Allura's jaw dropped open, "You're good. No really, you are!"

"Yep, I know," he puffed up with false modesty, rubbing his knuckles on his chest and then breathing on them, "So are you going to tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, or am I going to have to spread around my own version of it?" He smiled winningly, fluttering his eyelashes.

"Why, you low-down, dirty, lying snake-in-the-grass!" she growled dangerously, swiftly standing at attention.

"Who, Lotor? No, I don't think he's here right now."

"Are you blackmailing me?" she demanded, letting some of her blanket slip off her in her anger.

Seeing that his joke had gone too far, Lance defensively raised his hands into the air, "I wasn't being serious about that, Princess. You know me better than that. I may be an egotistical ass who knows how to have fun, but I can be a Keith, too; I know the meaning of honor," he said reasonably, "I just thought that you could use a little coaxing, that's all."

"I know, I know," Allura sighed, raking her slender fingers through her tangled mane, "My nerves have been shot as of late, so please excuse that. I'll tell you, but promise you'll keep it to yourself?"

"Promise," he swore solemnly.

Inhaling yet another deep breath, she told him the highlights of her harrowing adventure, of course leaving out the more racy details. Lance had a right to know, but not that much. And judging from the ludicrous expression on his countenance, she couldn't tell whether he believed her this time or not.

"Well, paint me blue and call me Zarkon! I'll be damned!" Lance chuckled, holding his sides so he wouldn't bust out laughing, "Are you serious? Lotor's an even bigger doof than I thought! I mean, I'll give him credit, he's a great tactician, but his mind is even more one-track than any of the space mice!"

"Tell me about it," Allura muttered as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, at least it's over," he smiled hugely, trying to cheer her up, "That stuff has to be out of your system by now, right?"

"I don't think so," she replied regretfully, "I've never seen any of Haggar's spells or potions last for very long, but I never heard whether or not if this particular one had an antidote. I'm afraid this is just going to have to be a waiting game..."

Patting her reassuringly on the back, Lance started to guide her towards Blue Lion's hatch and Castle Control.

"Well, all that matters is that you're back and in one piece. Don't worry, you'll be fine," he then added, "By the way, you wouldn't happen to remember how you managed to infiltrate Doom's security system, would you?"

Allura paused thoughtfully for a moment, and then smacked her forehead.

"Damn it! No, I don't! And we've been trying to hack into that for the past few months, haven't we?!"

"Yeah, we have...," he sighed regretfully, "Oh, well, let's just get inside."

"I think I can agree with you on that one. All I want... is some sleep... Do you know I haven't slept in two days?" Allura murmured as she cocooned herself further into Lotor's blanket.

As Lance nodded, the hatch to the Lion slowly closed behind them with a hydraulic hiss.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 35**

Allura was so tired and so drained of energy, she was practically asleep before she even hit the blessed familiarity of her mattress in her bedroom. Her entire mind was ridden with rampant, conflicting emotions, her body was extremely sore, and her eyes were probably bloodshot as hell, but she still somehow managed to slip into the most satisfying slumber she had experienced in ages.

She had locked her door and all her windows from the inside so she wouldn't be able to go off on another joyride in Blue Lion should the influences of Lotor's drug steal upon her unawares. Lance had also said he would concoct a good cover story for her absence, she had no idea what, but she had some faith in him.

_...Actually, maybe it was better he found me, instead of Hunk..._

Yawning, she rolled over onto her side and burrowed further into the black comforter she had dragged with her all the way up to her room.

The Arusian princess had become a virtual hermit within the confines of her own room. Her door and windows were still locked, and it had been at least five days since Lance had brought her back. She had had to frantically stave off all visits from Nanny, Coran, and the rest of the guys the whole time by feigning sick. Keith had even grudgingly given her leave from flight practice. And not surprisingly, no one from Doom attacked all week.

She still didn't know if the stuff Lotor had induced into her system was permanent or not, but she didn't want to take any chances with other people possibly finding out about it. Luckily, whatever it was that Lance had told everyone as her cover story also worked, since no one really ever interrogated her. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep up this charade forever, but what else could she do? She had virtually no way of finding out anymore information on that damn drug.

Meanwhile, Allura avoided going stir crazy in her solitude by passing the time reading cheesy romance novels and watching some old movie discs Pidge had given her a while ago. It kept her busy, but the back of her mind was always occupied with complete thoughts of its own.

Slowly, what had first been fuzzy details of her expedition to Doom soon became painfully clear memories. She had had to admit, the role reversal had, in its own insidious way, been fun, but the pure mortification she felt far outweighed the perverse satisfaction.

_...My God, did I actually touch a whip?!... I was almost worse than Lotor ever was!... And that's pretty slutty!... _

And what was more, things that the Drule prince had done that had been blocked from her memory came assailing back with a vengeance, as well. Things that would have made Zarkon, if he were dead, roll in his grave.

Victimized by his own plan, Lotor had still refused to take advantage of a situation that was clearly in his favor, even though it at least looked like he had pretty much severed the drug's influence over himself while he was still in the Castle of Lions. All he had to have done was just lay back and let her take care of everything. He could have even taken her hostage, but he didn't. He had sent her back. Even though he had everything to gain, and nothing to lose from the predicament. Why?

Could he have actually meant what he said?

Allura wonderingly traced a pattern with her fingertip onto the pillow she was staring blankly at in her lap. Lotor had acted... gentlemanly, and without thought to himself. Again, why?

_...Well, that doesn't really change anything, but still... Geez, you think you know someone..._, she pondered offhandedly, _...He's like a puzzle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in stupid..._

Even though he went about it the wrong way, could the prince, so lacking in subtlety, actually, truly care for her?

Gradually, unanswered questions led to yet still even more questions, and Allura's curiosity gradually overcame her better judgment, which led her to do what she did. And besides, she still needed to know if Haggar's drug was permanent or not.

Late one night, she managed to steal downstairs and sneak into Castle Control without anyone's knowledge.

_...God, strike me down before I do what I'm about to do..._

Quietly pushing a few buttons, she spoke into a small view screen.

"I have no idea why I'm even doing this, and this is probably the stupidest thing I'll ever do in my life, but thanks to your little stunt last week, you owe me some answers, you bastard! I know you don't need any encouragement, but I'd like to discuss a couple of things with you. Meet me at the usual spot tomorrow at midnight. You know, one of the windows in my room you usually manage to jimmy open and terrify the hell out of me. Yeah, that one! And unlike last time, I will take some precautions in case anything happens... Catch my drift? In other words," she added with a shrill yell, "NO FUNNY STUFF, YOU BIG LUMMOX!!"

Pressing one last button, the encoded message was swiftly delivered to Lotor's one-man fighter.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 36**

She was ready. Oh, she was so ready... Her gaze fixed on her bedroom window with the trained patience of an assassin, Allura clenched and unclenched her fists repetitively. After what seemed like an eon had passed, she rigidly checked her watch and saw that it was only 11:50 PM; it was still too early. Suppressing a yawn, she mechanically swung her iron view back to what was visible of the black Arusian night through her window. The stars winked innocently, betraying nothing of the fact that an asshole in prince's clothing probably slinked among them right now.

All of a sudden, Allura's entire body became coated in a light sheen of cold sweat. Unease and the first hint of fear played about in her widened, sapphire eyes.

_...Ack! What am I talking about?!... There is no way in hell I'm ready for this yet!..._, she pondered in a wild frenzy of panic.

What had she been kidding herself? She might've dressed up the situation by telling herself that she had done what she did because she rightfully wanted to find out if the damned drug had an antidote or not, but deep inside, whether or not if she wanted to admit to it, she knew what she really wanted - answers to Lotor's obscure, and sometimes unvoiced, statements.

But no matter how you looked at it, she had, in her princessly stupidity, basically invited her world's would-be conqueror and her mortal enemy to waltz into her own castle, her own room, even, for some pointless "talk". Why stop there, though? Why not ask Lotor over to discuss politics over tea and cookies while she was at it? Allura temporarily smothered a quick giggle over the mental image of the Drule prince struggling with a tea cup, with Nanny advising in the background, "Peenky out, Preence Lotor, peenky out!"

She swiftly regained her nervous composure and gently reprimanded herself. Seriously, though, what would stop him from lying? And if Lotor just so happened to conveniently revert back to his creepy, slimy self and successfully made off with her this time (kicking and screaming, of course), she would have no one to blame but herself. Hell, she didn't know if he'd even show up.

_...What, Lotor pass up a chance this stupidly easy to have the heart of Arus virtually fall into his lap?..._, Allura thought wryly to herself, momentarily forgetting the prince's unexplainably nice act, _...No, he'll show up... He had to have received my message…_

Gently shaking her head, she loosed herself from her reverie. Glancing once more at her watch, Allura read 11:56 PM. It still wasn't too late to run up and slam the window shut, locking it, but she really had come too far to back out now. Or was she simply finding another way to justify this seemingly frivolous meeting with her notorious adversary? Well, even if she did slam it shut and lock it, Lotor would probably find some other way to squeeze past the castle's defenses; he always seemed to.

_...Geez, there I go again!... _

Did she want him to come?! Sighing, Allura checked her watch yet again. 11:58 PM. Luckily, she would not play the part of the ditzy, little princess tonight; she was definitely prepared. She had taken virtually all proper precautions, some of which she couldn't even remember- weapons of all sorts were stashed throughout her room, more alarm buttons had been installed along her walls, and she had tried to make herself look as unappealing as possible.

Swiftly giving herself a once-over in her full-length mirror, Allura was somewhat satisfied with what she saw. She was clad in the loosest, longest gown with the highest neckline she could find in her closet, but the thing that really cinched it was the fact that it was so hot a shade of pink, it was practically radioactive; enough to make any man go blind, at least.

Nervously looking at her watch for the umpteenth time that night, she was greeted with the sight of 11:59 PM. Well, she would discover very soon if that powder's influence had truly run its course, or if it was merely hibernating within her. Lotor's mere presence would advertise its temporality; it would have had to dissipate at least a little bit for him to brave the journey from Doom to Arus. She had taken a gamble requesting him to meet her on her own turf, and using herself as bait to satisfy her own insatiable curiosity, no less, but would it pay off? Either way, she would soon find out.

Holding her breath, she stared at her watch for what would hopefully be the last time. 12:00 AM on the dot.

_...It's show time..._

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 37**

After a few torturously long minutes, a slow, deliberate, fluid movement finally broke the monotony. Keen eyes peered into the darkness as a pair of large hands cautiously parted Nanny's feminine window treatment. Pretty soon, the rest of Lotor's tall frame followed, adept after many, many break-ins of the Arusian princess's bedroom.

Immediately clicking on her lights, Allura stonily faced him with arms crossed, her fingers drumming a light, yet extremely pissed off, rhythm over an upper arm.

"Fashionably late, I see," she ground out in a voice that dropped icicles, "Personally, I'm surprised you even had the gall to show up at all..."

The startled look on Lotor's face was reminiscent of a child caught red-handed stealing cookies from a cookie jar.

"Well, um... er- Hey, wait a minute! You're the one who asked me to come here!"

Suddenly, he was all smoothness again. Straightening himself out, he surveyed her and his surroundings with partial wariness and a light smile.

"I usually don't make house calls, so to what do I owe this pleasure?" he inquired humorously.

"Don't play the innocent with me, Lotor, you're the last person who should do that, ever!" she snapped, "You know perfectly well what you did!"

At this, his feathers clearly became ruffled. Rolling his golden eyes upwards towards the ceiling, Lotor wearily ran a hand through his shampoo commercial-quality hair.

"Look, don't you think I haven't suffered, either?" he asked rhetorically, gazing at her almost helplessly, "I did something thoughtless and idiotic that I thought would work, and it backfired. Very badly, I might add," he then sent her a sidelong smirk," In retrospect, it was well worth it, though. You can be pretty sexy when you're domineering, you know, now that I'm in a position to... ah, appreciate it without," he added with a wry curl of his lip, "Cowering in a corner every time you tried to jump down my pants. Tell me, was I ever that bad with you? I couldn't have been... could I?"

"Are you crazy? You seriously don't know how much you freak the hell out of me?!" she exploded incredulously, "You, who manage to break into places you physically should not even be able to stand in?! Anytime I am in a situation where I'm clearly at a disadvantage, you somehow miraculously appear; I'm stranded on the toilet with no toilet paper, and boom, you're there! I have no damn idea how you do it, and I never know where you're going to pop up next! You have given me a whole new level of paranoia that has yet to be paralleled; I have to Lotor-proof my room every night before I go to sleep, for crying out loud! And even that doesn't seem to work! And you want to know if you were ever as bad as I was with you while high off of Haggar's little project?!"

Lotor, with the good grace not to fall to the floor laughing over the princess's outburst, remained stoic.

"Okay, I guess I'll take that as a 'yes'..."

Biting down on her lower lip, Allura sighed loudly and resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Look, this is all regardless... Just please answer the question that is the only reason I, much against my better judgment, asked you to come up here for - where is the antidote to that lovely substance you blew into my face last week?"

"There is no antidote," he told her calmly.

That did it.

"WHAT?!" Allura shrieked in horror, rushing up to him and gripping his uniform's shirt in her shaking hands, "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!"

Apocalyptic visions of her forever pursuing her former pursuer like a dog in perpetual heat assailed her very being, which Lotor could see plainly reflected in her oceanic eyes. This disgruntled him slightly (what was he, chopped liver?), but when Allura began to blink back angry tears of frustration, he let out a heavy breath and relented. He couldn't bear to see her in distress; did she even realize the power she held over him?

Gently disengaging her clenched fists, he said in a placating tone, "There is no antidote to the drug because it doesn't need one - it wore off a while ago; it was only temporary."

Stepping back, Allura cautiously took in what he said, weighing his words with care.

"How do I know this isn't a trap?" she asked, a touch of skepticism lacing her voice.

"How do I know this isn't a trap?" Lotor countered, some of his ire returning as he gestured widely around her room, "I've taken just as much of a chance as you have by even coming here!"

Taken aback, she remained momentarily silent, lost in thought, but, before she knew it, a swift tide of relief was soon washing over her.

"If you're telling the truth, you have no idea how happy you've made me," Allura breathed dramatically, leaning against the wall as she allowed her body to relax somewhat, "And to think I would have had to...! Oh, Lotor, I could almost kiss you!"

As soon as she said that, she clapped her hands over her mouth, but it was too late.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 38**

A half-smile slid across the mercurial prince's face.

"Why, Allura, if all you wanted was a little encouragement, you should have said something in the first place!"

Allura's eyes widened in alarm as Lotor began to move towards her in the all but too-familiar maneuver to corner her, shocked that he would even have the audacity to do what he was about to do after recently suffering similar treatment himself.

"Damn it!!" she swore out loud, more to herself than anyone, "You are an asshole! I knew you'd do something like this, but did I listen to myself? No!" Allura then spoke directly to him, growling like a trapped dog raising its hackles, "Unless you want all your fingers broken off, don't you even think of touching me!"

It was a threat, albeit an empty one, but the only effect it appeared to have was to amuse Lotor, who still continued to advance on her like a wild animal stalking its prey.

"Uh... I've taken... precautions, so you... better watch out!" Allura sputtered out lamely, her voice rising in pitch as her brave front started to chip and crumble away into panic.

Within moments, her back was pressed flat against her bedroom wall.

"Oh, yes, I seem to remember you saying something like that...," Lotor trailed off methodically, pretending to be in deep thought, "However, I don't think the laser rifles you have hidden in your bed will be of much use to you, as will either your new and improved alarm system; let's not forget that clever stunt you pulled off a couple of weeks ago! And as for trying to make yourself look as unappealing as possible," he eyed her gaudy dress with a certain level of amusement, "I know you hate pink, but you're beautiful no matter what you're in, even if it is radioactive. I rather like the color, though. We could perhaps use it on a few new robeasts; maybe it would blind the rest of the Voltron Force."

By now, Lotor had invaded Allura's personal space bubble, and was now uncomfortably close.

"I can't believe you're doing this!" she snarled, "Despite the fact that you have gone through exactly what I'm going through now, you haven't learned anything, have you? Or do you know how much it sucks, but just not give a damn?"

"It is not that I am unaware of the double irony of my actions, but more that I am aware of the natures of the universe; I took a gamble in coming here, as did you in inviting me. However, I won, and you lost. It's that simple," Lotor informed her, not quite coldly, but close enough.

"You callous son-of-a-bitch!" she railed against him, spitting in his face.

"Quite," Lotor muttered, unfazed, as he neatly wiped off the spit with two fingers.

Feeling betrayed, Allura began to pound against him with her fists, but he pinned them to her sides in order to still her.

"Although I've always admired your spunk, this is getting tiresome," he said impatiently, but finally taking in the full extent of her rage, he sighed and relaxed his steel grip on her, "Do I truly repel you so much?"

Caught off guard, she unexpectedly paused in the midst of her struggling, not quite sure on how to answer this off-hand question. She knew how she felt, but it was difficult to formulate into words more eloquent than, "Yes and no, you dope," despite her situation.

Lotor's gaze carefully swept over her, studying her features. If she was feeling any inner turmoil whatsoever, it didn't show, for her face was like a mask, betraying no emotion. He had always been so sure of her feelings towards him, although they were similar to how his used to be- confused, scattered. Could he have been... wrong? That very concept was alien to Lotor. How could he be wrong? Either way, the first seeds of self-doubt began to plant themselves within his mind.

Bracing himself for her answer, he felt as if the suspense would kill him.

Finally looking up at him, Allura simply answered dully, "I don't know."

A strange expression crossed Lotor's countenance. So his intuition had been right, but should he be elated that she didn't hate his guts, or disappointed that she did not expand upon her three word sentence? Well, it was good enough. Attraction was the first step into something more, after all.

"Allura, I can make things very pleasant for you...," he stated quietly, convincingly, "If I do not repel you, then why are you being so obstinate?"

Some of Allura's fiery temper dissipated as Lotor softened his tone, but the essence of her anger remained.

"Don't you think I know that already?" she snapped, straining against his hold on her, "I am aware that intelligence is not exactly your forte, but you certainly have to have as much brains as the space mice, at least. So supposing you were to step out of your role as the evil megalomaniac, why do you think I'm being so adamant?

Lotor doggedly stayed with his method of persuasion.

"Allura, really, I could do things to you that you haven't even dreamed of," he continued persuasively, a hint of seduction entering his tone as he let an arm circle around her waist, "And... what the hell is that?"

Pausing in his speech, his hand passed over a large, bulky object surrounding Allura's lower abdominal area. She began to wriggle in earnest once more when she noticed what had caught his attention, but he managed to silence her before stooping down and experimentally knocking against the thing. Sure enough, a metallic ring resonated throughout the room.

"Ha, joke's on you!" Allura laughed with a triumphant smile as her trump card was revealed, "It's a chastity belt I raided from my governess's closet! I'd like to see you try and get past that!"

"What?!"

Not quite believing his pointy ears, he incredulously flipped the lower half of her gown up, despite her sudden yells of indignation, to see if she spoke the truth.

"Holy shit!"

True to her words, a chastity belt hung around her curvaceous waist. It was relatively simple in design, but the nondescript metal it was constructed of was thick. Other than that, all that was on the belt was a small keyhole and a hastily scrawled "Keep Out".

"Enjoying the view?" Allura demanded angrily.

"You bet," he grinned wolfishly as he rose up, but not before giving a light slap to the back of the belt, "I can't believe you actually did that! I'm pretty good at picking locks, though. I think Haggar might have some bobby pins in her lab someplace... Either way, it'll be interesting to see how long it takes to get this baby off!"

Allura was horror-stricken. Without even doing anything, Lotor had nullified her last line of defense against him. His reputation as a strategist was well-deserved!

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 39**

Renewing her struggles, Allura spat out venomously, "If you think I'm going with you to that stinking planet, then you really are out of your mind!"

"We'll see," reasoned Lotor as he easily hefted her over his shoulders.

"Ah, damn it!! Not again!!" she howled in fury, kicking and beating with a restored desperation, "You monster! You bastard! You animal! You... you... JERK!! If you go anywhere near that window, I'll... I'll scream!"

"I know how to shut you up," he told her lightly, but it was a viable threat.

"AUGH!!"

The closer Lotor strode towards the window he originally came through, the more Allura thrashed violently, but it was like she was glued to his back. As her energy gradually dwindled, she couldn't help but think bitterly to herself that she really did have no to blame but herself for this. Lotor had been right; she had played with fire, and had gotten burnt. Her people, her planet - all were utterly doomed because of her womanish desire to satisfy her own inquisitive nature, and because she had held some trust in Lotor that he would, for once, behave himself. Oh, how pitifully wrong she had been.

Fearfully glancing over her shoulders, she saw that he was within a few footsteps of her window, where his fighter, no doubt, hovered on autopilot.

With the immense weight of her failure pressing down on her, Allura quietly choked out, "I really will hate you if you go through with this."

Evidently, this had an effect on Lotor, who abruptly stopped in his tracks.

"I can make you change your mind!" he stubbornly refused.

"No, Lotor, I really will hate you," she replied sadly.

Still grasping her form, he struggled with himself as his conscience reared its ugly head yet again. He didn't have very many, but Allura knew just what buttons to push to get through to him. Deep inside, he knew she was right. It was the only reason he had forcefully released her before she could have her evil, evil way with him while under the influence of the powder.

After a few tense moments, Lotor finally set her down roughly with a guttural sigh, swearing under his breath.

"I really hate it when you do this," he growled, disgusted with himself, as he scuffed the floor hard with his foot.

Surprised, Allura blinked back tears that had been threatening to spill over during the whole episode. She guardedly adjusted the sleeves of her ghastly pink dress, hoping he wouldn't notice.

However, tears seemed to be the last thing on Lotor's mind as he paced back and forth like an agitated, caged animal. He exuded a fierce aura overflowing with wrath and conflicting desires until he eventually stopped. He had evidently been thinking, but his voice was thick and harsh.

"I know that I have caused you much grief in the past, but I truly believe that this is for your own good; I have only the best of intentions for you. Like it or not, our fates have become intertwined, you and I," he smiled bitingly, "And what really pisses me off about this whole thing is that, no matter what, I really am damned if I do, and damned if I don't; if I take you, in more ways than one, against your will, you'd despise me for the rest of your days, which I wouldn't be able to bear. And yet if I do nothing, I'd feel as if I'd waste away to nothing... Now do you realize why I'm so messed up? It's just, I've come so far to go back now, and I can't... just can't... go back, knowing that if I had tried just a little bit harder, I might've changed your mind. And it's just my good fortune that you're as headstrong as me."

Allura said nothing, but was overwhelmed by his words. She wanted to do something, but what? Lotor slipped into a lie as easily as he did the truth, but an old adage her father had told to her years ago reechoed within her mind, "A person may lie, but the eyes cannot." And Lotor's were filled with a crushing despair. Could he really be that good of a liar? Or could it be that she was simply too soft-hearted?

_...I'll be damned if I'm leading myself back into a trap..._

Exhaling a heavy breath, she admitted softly, "Lotor, actually, I had another reason for asking you to come here..."

"Yes, what is it?" he replied off-handedly, suddenly sounding very tired.

"We've never had a chance to really talk," she continued hesitantly, "Since you're already here, I was thinking that we might as well-"

"Please, have a seat," Lotor agreed wearily as he motioned towards the bed, even though it was her room.

However, Allura didn't budge.

"First, how do I know you're not going to pull a repeat of earlier?"

Lotor had to smirk a little at that, although it looked almost slightly apologetic.

"I suppose you have no good reason to trust me for now," he reached into his uniform and drew out a small control unit, throwing it towards her, "If you hit the button on the right, it will take my ship off autopilot mode and it'll crash into the lake to rest alongside my old uniform," she reflexively caught the unit, flushing a light red from his reference to her earlier rampage, "I might still be able to get out if I try anything, but I have no other way of escaping Arus."

Allura fiddled around with the unit for a second, and then dropped it into her gown's bodice, satisfied that it was authentic.

"Second, I want a truce, even if it's only temporary."

"What, the last thing wasn't good enough?" Lotor asked, astonished, but upon noticing her death glare, he grudgingly added, "Fine, fine... I won't kidnap you... Consider this a one-time freebie; you're lucky I'm letting you off so easily. Just don't tell anyone... Is there anything else Your Majesty so desireth?"

"Cute, Lotor, cute...," replied Allura briskly as she brushed off the laser rifles, which clattered noisily to the ground, she had concealed within her bed and seated herself as comfortably as she could manage to with her enemy in view, "I'm good for now. Just know that if you try anything, your ass will land in the dungeon so fast, you won't even know what hit you."

"I suppose I deserved that...," he said, wincing nonetheless.

Lotor still fairly itched to whisk her off to Doom again, but her earlier words reverberated inside of his head, "No, Lotor, I really will hate you." With a mental groan, he resigned himself to his promise.

_...Alright, easy, boy..._

He languidly drew up a spare chair and sat in it backwards, directly opposite of her. Cracking his neck, he settled himself in.

Spreading his arms to demonstrate his openness and sincerity, he simply stated, "Okay, let's talk."

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 40**

Allura still couldn't quite believe it. Here she was, plopped on her bed, ready to engage in a trivial, impromptu conversation with Lotor, of all the people the universe chose to throw at her. The whole situation possessed a surreal quality to it, like some bizarre dream.

She had already unofficially forgiven Lotor for attempting to steal her away for the millionth time because he had released her of his own free will (she was assuming, at least), and not because of the guys' meddling. This suddenly reminded her again, she was alone with in her room with him. She was alone with the son of her father's killer. She was alone with the most oversexed pervert in the galaxy. Alone. Alone. Alone! And from time to time, Lotor still sent her looks like he was a starving animal, and she was food that was dangling just out of reach, but for the most part, he appeared to be holding great self-restraint, which she appreciated.

"Why did you send me back?"

The question was out of the blue. Lotor evidently thought so, as well, as his saffron eyes opened in mild surprise.

"What?"

"You heard me. Why?"

Allura didn't specify what, but he knew what she was speaking of.

"Because," he exhaled heavily, clearly feeling ill at ease as he leaned back in his seat, "Like you had said earlier, you would have hated me, and like I said earlier, I would not be able to bear it. I already explained this to you beforehand."

"But-"

"But what?" he countered, abruptly cutting off her protests, "Could it possibly be that the son of Zarkon is not quite as much like Zarkon as you think? Could it possibly be that things are not strictly black and white? And could it possibly be that the princess of Arus is so wrapped up within her own innocence that she doesn't realize that she might, just might, have the hots for the son of her enemy?"

"And it could it possibly be that your ego knows no boundaries?" Allura retorted heatedly as she crossed her arms defensively.

"Hey, you may say, 'No, no,' but your eyes say 'Yes, yes,'" Lotor grinned widely, revealing slightly pointed canines, "People tell me all the time that I'm in self-denial, but you should check yourself out."

Fuming, she gripped the edges of the comforter she was seated upon and resisted the urge to yell in his face.

Noticing the reddening in her cheeks, Lotor's smirk broadened, "Admit it, you wouldn't know what to do without me. I add excitement to your life, don't I?"

"R-i-g-h-t, how could I possibly forget about that?"

"I thought so," he concluded smugly.

Rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time, Allura shifted her position in the bed and tried to change the subject to the question that had been bothering her all week, "Did you mean what you said last week?"

"I don't remember - I've said many things since then."

...Well, maybe that's because your mouth is big enough to admit in any robeast ever created...

Her tone abruptly turned solemn.

"Were you speaking the truth when you said that you were in love with me?"

The awkward silence that infiltrated the air shortly afterwards was suffocating; Lotor stared at her as if she had a huge, gaping hole smack dab in the middle of her forehead.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Allura cried out, confused.

Finally, he lowered his head to his hand and chuckled softly to himself.


	5. Opposites Attract, Ch 41 To 49

**Disclaimer:** Voltron and all of its characters and settings are copyrighted by World Event Productions, Ltd. and Toei Animation Company. Original characters and plots are the brain-children of me, the author. I am in no way affiliated with the aforementioned companies. No monetary profit is being made from this work, and no copyright infringement is intended. Please do not do not repost or reuse this work without obtaining my permission first. Thank you.

**Author's Note:** This is an old, old fanfic written back in the day when I was a wee fanbrat on a long-term caffeine high. Consequently it is rather long and convoluted and a little silly. There may be a couple OOC's here and there, as while I like Princess Allura's character, she was admittedly a wuss in the series. It was like, "Come on, girl, stand up for yourself!" And that's when I caught myself yelling at my TV and decided to write this sprawling fanfic. At any rate, I hope that you enjoy it.

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 41**

"You may be a hellcat, but sometimes you really are like a kitten, in some respects," Lotor raised his countenance and peered at her with a sort of sobering joviality, "I have always considered you an intelligent woman, Allura, but the levels of your naiveté never cease to amaze me."

She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. "What do you mean?"

Laughing to himself once more, he casually stepped away from his chair and stretched his towering body. Allura shrank away slightly, which Lotor noticed, so he deliberately slowed his movements so as not to spook her.

"Okay, let's suspend everything for one moment... Why do you suppose that Voltron always seems to defeat my fleet?"

"Because... we're the good guys?" Allura formulated hesitantly, like a student struggling to answer a complex problem within a classroom.

"No!" his long, white main flew out slightly as he whirled around to face her, "It's because of me! I let you win. Think about it - do you think it just coincidence that an old-as-hell robot time and time again thwarts the as of yet undefeated military power of the galaxy? I must admit that the technology with which Voltron was created is truly superb, but it's even more outdated than Haggar is. I've defeated planets that had more sophisticated defense systems than the one you currently possess, trust me, so why should you be the exception to all of this?"

"Because... we have justice on our side?"

"No, again! Justice has nothing to do with it! What makes the difference is who has the bigger guns!" Lotor exclaimed impatiently as he spread his hands out in exasperation, "It is not by chance that my fleet comes off as incredibly inept regarding your puny, floating rock in space; there is no such thing as coincidence! I am a seasoned fighter and my record is excellent, so I don't think my edge would all of a sudden be dulled for absolutely no reason at all. I also don't have my father repeatedly jump down my throat over this whole affair because I like it or I think it's particularly good for my health. On top of that, I don't like to lose! So there has to be another explanation for all of this. And what do you think it is? Come on, just take a guess."

"Because... you're evil?" Allura tried a third time.

Lotor smacked himself on the forehead and sighed, irritated.

"Okay... Aside from all of that, I don't even really care about Arus. It is very beautiful, but it's more of the line a thorn that's been stuck up my father's ass for years, not mine. We have minerals and wealth enough. If I had wanted to, I could have turned your planet into nothing but a pile of rubble by now, but I haven't, so there has to be another reason why I'm constantly losing, on purpose, to Voltron. Since I evidently have to spell it out for you, it's because of you. That's right, you. I have, much against my better judgment, allowed a woman to distract me from my main objective."

"You just wanted my people for slaves, and probably me as a bed wench," she laughed hollowly.

Lotor ceased in his movements, staring at her incredulously. Allura hastily gathered up her dress in her arms, preparing to bolt, when he strode towards her once more, but he simply bent down until he was face-level with her.

His gaze piercing through her own, he said quietly, "Do you honestly believe that?"

Strongly contrasting with her earlier innocence, she squared her jaw and replied staunchly, "Yes... In fact, I do."

Squaring his own jaw line, Lotor locked horns with her head-on.

"I will admit that was what I first intended," he insisted adamantly, "But do you really think that I would willingly make a mockery of my military career with that goal still in mind? I've said it once, I'll say it again - I could have burnt Arus to the ground already if I had chosen to, but I didn't," Lotor then whispered fiercely to her, "And if I had simply wanted to fuck you, and nothing more, I would have done it by now! But I haven't, because I wouldn't do that to the woman I was in love with! Now tell me to my face again that that's all I want of you!"

"But, but, but...!"

As it was intended to do, his sudden and vehement statement left her with her mouth hanging open, unable to devise either a good sentence or a competent rebuttal. Satisfied, Lotor rose back up onto his feet and retook his seat.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 42**

Meanwhile, Allura remained rooted to her bed, statuesque, as her mind still reeled from the ferocity of his brief speech. ...Could he be telling the truth? No, he couldn't possibly be... He was Lotor, of course... But then again, why would anyone argue so persistently for a lie like that unless it was the truth? It didn't make any sense to her... and was she really that naive?!

"Why do you go about it the way you do, then?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Because, I don't what else to try," Lotor explained gently, "You will not come to me willingly, even though there is something there, so I must do this, instead. I know it is not the kindest way, but I've always felt that you would change your mind in the end. I've already told you, I only have the best of intentions for you."

Her tone slowly regaining its steadiness, Allura managed to reply wryly, "Generally, a woman reacts better to a potential suitor if he's not the scourge of the universe."

He seemed to be able to relocate his usually ever-present smart-ass smirk, as well.

"Well, I'd send you flowers, but Doom doesn't really have a real ecosystem. I'd send you gifts, and I have, but I think your... governess?... would trash them first. Hell, I'd even serenade you, but frankly, my dear, I don't really have the talent for it."

Allura almost collapsed on her bed from the mental image of Lotor at the bottom of her window with a guitar, singing his heart out while pushing Keith's struggling head away with one hand.

"What, this coming from a man who usually gets told 'Stop!', 'No!', and 'Don't!'?"

"Well, I have been told that before...," Lotor mused, rubbing his chin as he feigned deep thought, "But I think you have it backwards; I've always gotten 'No!! Don't stop!!'"

Allura fought to keep a straight face, but it was a difficult as a crooked smile threatened to break through her carefully constructed defense. Shaking her head, she was about to reply with a snappy come-back when she all of a sudden inhaled a deep intake of breath, wincing, as she gingerly rubbed the back of her neck, which was now mysteriously sore; she had probably been sitting in an upright position for far too long. Lotor noticed this, of course.

"What's wrong?" he inquired, concerned.

"It's nothing... Oh, god... Ow...!"

"Here, let me help," he offered as he ignored her remark, promptly leaving his seat and going towards her, "Lay on your stomach."

"Look, it's okay!" Allura protested, "It's just-"

"I said, lay down."

His voice was solicitous, but it was edged with some of his old authoritativeness.

"Fine!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air as she humored him, "I still don't see any reason to- OhmYGoD!!"

Allura's eyes rolled back into her head as Lotor lightly straddled her backside and brushed her hair aside, digging his hands into the back of her neck.

"Now, since I've answered your questions, more or less," he spoke nonchalantly as he proceeded to rub her both overly-sensitive and overly- tense shoulders, "I want you to satisfy one for me. I already know what the answer will be, but I more of the line want to hear you admit it to yourself - how do you feel about me?"

Biting down on her lip to stifle the moan of pleasure that was threatening to slip out, she only heard about half of what he said as she practically writhed under his powerful grip. She felt as if she had exploded into a cloud of pure, uninhibited bliss; toiling away under Nanny's stern tutelage, doubled with the responsibility of running a planet and constantly evading enemies, one of whom was giving her quite an excellent massage, was enough to give anyone huge knots in their muscles. And hers were un-kinking away into blessed nothingness. Lotor's hands were considerate, gentle, even (when he wanted to be, at least), but they also remained oh-so-deliciously firm and overwhelming. Finally, she regained enough of her scattered bearings to at last reply to his question.

"WEll, uH, I DoN't REalLy KnOW hOw tO ANSweR ThaT...," Allura faltered, one of her blue eyes bugging out as she dug her nails into the blanket she was lying on top of, "YeS, I wILl AdMiT, I'M... (ugh) aTtRActed to yOu. ThERE, aRe YOu haPPy? DoES tHaT INFlatE YOur EgO eNOUGh?! YoU HaVE ABSolUteLy NO iDea hOw guiLTY tHAt mAKEs mE FeEl...," she then added, "LoVE thE HaIR, thOUgH!"

By now, Lotor had worked his way down to her mid-back.

"That's good," he reasoned, "I knew that, but... that's still good to know." His tone sounded like it was prodding her on, nonetheless.

"UM... YoU alSO ScArE ThE HEll Out oF ME."

This time, it was Lotor who paused.

"I knew that, too," he frowned, "But that's... not good."

"Hey, who told you to stop?!" Allura demanded, pounding the bed brattily with her fists (hey, she's a princess! You have to cut her some slack).

A smirk slid across his features as his golden eyes glinted mischievously.

"I cannot begin to count the amount of times I've gotten that, too," the Drule prince chuckled in a toned down version of his usual arrogant laugh, "Sorry, love, but it's done," he fluidly dismounted the bed, which bounced back to its usual rigidity, but not before casually copping a friendly, good-natured feel, which she chose to ignore, "This one was a freebie. I charge for extras, and... well, yeah," he laughed once more, "I take it you've never had a massage before? It sure as hell felt like it."

Pouting cutely, Allura briefly straightened herself out as she reluctantly rose up from the bed.

"No, not really," she scowled, but then abruptly smiled, "You know, Lotor, for being the spawn of evil incarnate, you make one very unlikely masseuse."

Lotor shrugged his broad shoulders and flushed a dark blue, momentarily looking boyish, "Aw, shucks... Well, I'd give you my card, but I think you already know where I live."

"Right...," she trailed off knowingly, tactfully choosing to change the subject yet again, "Since I guess we're both bearing our all to each other right now, I might as well ask - why me?"

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 43**

"What do you mean?" he asked quizzically, arching an eyebrow as he twisted his head back to face her again.

"Come on! I mean, of all the people in the galaxy, why did you choose me to pick on and stalk on and so forth? Why-?"

Holding a hand up to halt any further criticisms, Lotor's eyes narrowed slightly as he addressed her defensively, cutting in, "Pick on? Hold on, I'd hardly call romantic coercion 'picking on'!"

"Is that what you like to call it?" Allura replied humorously, her musical peals of laughter filling the room, "Oh, yeah, it's really won me over! Keep up the good work!" when her laughter finally died away, she added gravely, "Seriously, though, why?"

Shrugging helplessly, he gazed pensively at her for a moment, "You know, I have asked myself that time and time again... I don't really know. Opposites attract, I suppose... When I first saw you, you were beautiful, no doubt about it, but I was an asshole then. I like to think that I've changed somewhat, so don't you even think of inserting some sarcastic comment in there. I thought I'd easily be able to conquer your feeble, little planet while having my fun with you, but you made things quite difficult for me... Either way, you put up a good fight, you intrigued me, and the rest, as they say," he said coolly, "Is history."

She sat cross-legged on her bed, a thoughtful expression on her face as she absorbed what he said like a dirty bathroom rug.

"I'm glad that we were able to sit down and talk civilly without you trying to kidnap me or me screaming my head off," Allura spoke meditatively as she refocused her attentions back on him, "But now that we're pretty much through with this... what now?"

Lotor sauntered over and bent down to her level when he got there.

"I don't know - why don't you tell me?"

Allura was momentarily taken aback.

"What makes you think that I'd know any more than you?"

He opened his mouth, but as he was about to say something, he abruptly changed his mind and sighed.

"Allura, you know what I want. I'm in love with you, and I always will be; I have never been so adamant about anything in my life," he told her bluntly, his intense gaze boring into her own, "But love is useless if it's not reciprocated. I know that you do not feel for me as I do for you, at least not yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed in the meantime; I wouldn't have... stalked... you this whole time if I had thought otherwise," he exhaled heavily.

Still seated upon her bed, Allura's eyes clouded over. Her hand reached out and lightly brushed his cheek in perhaps the first touch she had ever willingly bestowed upon him short of slapping him.

Lotor inadvertently realized the importance of her action, and his large hand came up to cover own as if to preserve the memory, his azure skin tone contrasting with her fairness.

"I know that in the past that I demanded this, but I'm asking you now - will you marry me?"

"Lotor, you know that I can't," she said solemnly, her voice edged with... regret?

True to his nature, though, he hardly flinched. Instead, he smiled slightly, almost sadly, as if he expected her answer to be that all along.

"You know that I will always love you, Allura, even though I will never quite know exactly why myself," Lotor murmured to her gently, "And you would never want for anything... Your planet would be saved... You have built it up marvelously from the ruins it was before, but you cannot keep this up forever, facing the likes of the Empire..."

"And you are the future head of it," Allura replied in a soft tone, "It is not that you offer isn't tempting, don't get me wrong, Lotor, but there is no way it would ever work out. I would never be able to willingly submit myself to the very thing I am trying to save my people from and look myself in the face again, not now."

Although his attention immediately sharpened on the phrase "Not now," the Drule prince's eyes hardened slightly.

"I will admit, I have done things that I have even reveled in, but I cannot change the past; I am what I am."

"But you can change the future!" she countered despairingly, "Nothing is ever set in stone!"

"I don't know, Allura, but you are right... Time is a fickle thing."

Allura appeared almost relieved. Relaxing, she withdrew her hand, which Lotor reluctantly let go of.

Meanwhile, he looked at her once more as he said, "You know that this won't dissuade me."

However, instead of sounding like a threat, the statement resonated of an endearment.

Smiling her beautiful smile again, Allura surveyed him with what seemed like a new outlook.

"I know... but we'll see," she hinted lightly, rising up from the bed, "I must admit, you have grown on me, even that dumb-ass smirk of yours."

The same said dumb-ass smirk resurfacing across his annoyingly immaculate features, Lotor kept his peace. It killed him to no end to not do something, anything, to sweep her off her feet to his, as Allura put it, own stinking planet, but something told him that tonight had gotten him surprisingly further with her than any of the myriad plots he had ever hatched. A lot further. And so he stilled himself.

"Someday, I hope we're going to look back at this together and laugh," Allura remarked off-handedly to herself as she casually stretched her arms over her head.

_...Me, too, beloved, me, too..._

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 44**

Lotor gradually rose up from his stooped position and tried to pop his back; it had been a while since he gotten an opportunity to move his stiff limb muscles. Stealing a quick peek at Allura's watch, he saw that it was 2:30 AM. So, two and a half hours had gone by already!

"I know that Haggar's drug put us both through hell, but you especially got nailed by it pretty hard. It's a bit late to be saying this, but I'm s-," Lotor carefully sounded out the word he hadn't heard or used for a quite some time, at least towards her, "I'm s-orr-...I'm sorry for what I did... and for everything else."

"What?" Allura asked, swiftly turning to face him, amazed that she even heard that word come out of his mouth.

It was like hearing Pidge suddenly asking, "What's a computer?"

"You heard me. I'm...sorry," he replied awkwardly, running his hand through his white mane.

_...Man, this nice guy shit is not easy!!... _

Giving her jaw time to close, Allura smiled at him.

"I forgive you."

Now it was Lotor's turn.

"What?!"

"You heard me, I forgive you," she repeated, and then proceeded to say something even more surprising, "Actually, I'm glad that you were stupid enough to go through with your plan... yeah, it sucked, no questions asked, but... I like how it has brought us closer together, although not quite in the way that you wanted. It's... nice; now I can see that you do actually have a heart."

"Thanks...," he said dryly.

"Well, what else did you want me to say?" Allura shrugged helplessly.

Lotor stuck out his hands as if he were reading a headline, "How about... 'You are a god, and I absolutely must have you! Let's elope!'"

"Or how about... 'Lucky for you, I'm starting to change my mind about you, so get your ass out of my room before I sic security on you!'?" she responded witheringly.

"Gotcha," he agreed, not wanting to press his already bountiful luck as he began to meander his way to her window.

Allura couldn't help but smile yet again. He always seemed to know when to make her laugh, even when it was totally unexpected.

Pausing for a moment, she suddenly received a wicked idea. The sheer audacity for what she wanted to do pressed tightly against her, but Nanny probably wouldn't have approved of it... which made her desire to do what she wanted to do that much stronger. Shrugging her shoulders again, she thought 'What the hell?' and stepped towards him. Everything else was going out the window, anyways.

Lotor's saffron gaze fixed on her once more, confused as to why she was willingly coming near his presence.

"What are you up to, woman?"

The question was almost suspicious.

The princess stuck out her bottom lip in her best "Who, me?" look, but she dropped her playful expression as she neared him. Her cerulean eyes played host to a strange combination of hesitancy, mild fear, and even some enjoyment at what she was about to do.

"Lotor, I wanted to thank you for releasing me earlier," she spoke slowly, trying her best to look him in the face, but as always, he towered over her, making her feel dwarfed, "You were not compelled into doing it, but you did it regardless. Thank you."

Without warning, she hauled herself up on the startled prince of Doom by hooking her hands around his neck and covered his mouth with her own in an impulsive, sensual kiss, well, as impulsive and sensual as she could make it.

Lotor's eyes abruptly rolled back into his head in shock; never had Allura done anything even resembling this to him of her own free will! This was a freaking milestone!! He felt as if he would faint!

Meanwhile, Allura was still latched onto him, giving him all that she could within a reasonable context. She did gradually become aware of his hands going down, down, down towards her waist and parts beyond as it probably registered in Lotor's brain that a woman was in front of him. He returned her kiss with even more passion and fervor as he tightened his grip on her.

_...Dear god, he is in love with me!..._, she thought incredulously to herself as it suddenly dawned upon her, ..._You can tell just by the way he touches me!... Why didn't I see this before?..._

However, a certain, little thing shattered her mind-numbing revelations, and as she quirked a blonde eyebrow, she soon discovered what it was.

"What?! What is it?!" Lotor asked, bewildered, when she separated from him, dashing the mood to pieces.

"Lotor, please kindly remove your hand from my ass," Allura ground out sweetly.

"Oh," he replied, unabashed, as he peeled his hand from her pert bottom, "Sorry."

Allura would have rolled her eyes, but a sudden voice floating through her bedroom door interrupted her.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 45**

"Princess, are you alright in there?! We heard voices coming from your room!"

Judging from the tone, it could be no one else but Keith.

"Shit!!" Allura swore quietly to herself as she disengaged herself all the way from Lotor, "What am I going to do?!"

"Lotor isn't in there, is he?" Keith asked loudly, his question reeking of suspicion.

Meanwhile, Lotor himself tensed up, his eyes narrowing as he prepared for yet another onslaught with his absolute favorite person in the universe next to his father. Fortunately, Allura thought more quickly than he could leap into action.

"Uh, I'm talking with... Romelle, yeah!! She stopped by for a surprise visit, didn't you, Romelle?" she cried frantically, elbowing him in the ribs.

Lotor looked at her like he wanted to ask, "What the hell do you want me to do?", but upon seeing the panicked expression befalling Allura's face, he sighed and smacked himself on the forehead.

_...God, the things I do for love... _

"Oh, yeah, hi, Kogane- I mean, Keith!" Lotor, at his beloved's urging, raised his voice to a ridiculously high falsetto for a man of his size, "How are you?? Me and Allur- I mean, Ally were just picking out clothes to wear to the next ball!! Tee hee-"

His career in doing impressions was cut pitifully short when Allura smacked him across the head.

"What did I do?" he hissed towards her, "I did what you asked!"

Allura glared at him as she whispered, "Romelle does not sound that ditzy!!"

The alien prince did nothing but chuckle quietly to himself.

But evidently, Lotor's scintillating portrayal of her cousin was enough for Keith.

"Hi, Romelle!!" he greeted her cheerfully, still on the other side of the door, "How's Sven? Can me and Lance come in and see you?"

"NO!!" both Allura and Lotor, this time forgetting to speak in his falsetto voice, broke in.

"Oh..." the intrepid commander of the Voltron force trailed off disappointedly, "Well, then... carry on. I guess we'll see you in the morning."

Only when the sound of Keith & Co.'s footsteps became more distant, did they allow themselves to collapse on the floor, melting into a puddle of utter relief.

As the two men strode down the hallway, Lance tiredly proposed an intriguing question, "What do you suppose Romelle was doing here so late?"

"Who really knows?" Keith yawned, the effects of the double shot espresso he imbibed earlier wearing off, "All that I can say is that I never really noticed how much her voice sounds like Lotor dressed in drag."

Lance grunted in ascent before they separated for their respective bedrooms.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in her bedroom, Allura was hurriedly pushing Lotor's unwilling mass towards her window.

"You've got to get out of here now!" she shouted in alarm, heaving against his greater weight, "Who knows when he might come back here?!"

"Fine... I can take a hint," Lotor muttered with ill grace, crossing his arms indignantly, "I'll go."

He began to walk towards the window himself, but his unexpected movement almost sent Allura sprawling.

"You know exactly why you have to do this," she moaned, extracting herself up from the floor.

He turned around and winked impishly at her, "I know. I just like to give you a hard time. You ought to know that by now."

She smiled again, despite her rampant consternation.

Lotor reached over and gently touched a wisp of hair that had escaped her bun.

"I know that this meeting of yours started with a bad beginning, but perhaps it has the potential for a better future," he stated quietly.

"Oh, fine...," Allura rolled her eyes impatiently, "I'll see if I can set up being 'stranded' in Blue Lion, or something. Maybe. Just don't make me have to use the stun gun I keep in there."

"You'd do that?" Lotor's eyes lit up as he spontaneously kissed her on the mouth, "Oh, that'd be great!"

"I said maybe!!" she repeated vehemently, but he acted like he didn't even hear her as he practically floated out the window and into his hovering fighter.

_...Geez, he's still as dense as ever... _

Shaking her head, she slowly followed his path of travel towards her window. It was still dark outside, but the outline of the Lotor's sleek craft was evident against the skyline. Leaning against her windowsill, she watched as he waved briefly at her before beginning to rise towards the sky. Belatedly, Allura realized she still possessed his blanket and his fighter's control unit, souvenirs from her foray out into Bitch Land via that damned witch's drug. Should she give them back? Nah. With the exception of the unit, he'd understand.

Finally, Lotor's ship disappeared altogether, and Allura was left standing gazing meditatively out into the blackness. What had just happened... seemed to have happened in a crazed whirlwind of random insanity. Her and Lotor... on speaking terms? It couldn't be. And yet it was.

_...Oy, what am I getting myself into?... _

Could what he had said come true? Lotor had shown that he was capable of kindness. It didn't seem likely, but... looking at just what happened...

She would need time to sort out her jumbled feelings towards him, of course. She did not know what the future would hold, either, but in a freak, parallel universe, if the circumstances changed... would they...? Just thinking of the possibility frightened her, so she ceased in rambling musings. But as she gazed out into the rippling waters of the castle lake, the darkness did not seem to be as dark as it used to be.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 46**

Tiredly wiping his sweaty brow with a large hand, Zarkon slumped against his throne with a loud thud. His heart was still racing like a lab rat's from his recent trudge from the arena to Castle Doom, and he had been nursing a terrible headache for the past few hours that was just now starting to fade away. He hadn't been this weary since... well, never! All week, he had been busy, all week... sloughing through robeast shit, cleaning out their stalls with a pooper scooper that could barely hold a golf ball, let alone the refuse of one of Haggar's mutated beasts... All of this the result of the mischief wrought by the white powder Lotor had blown into his face.

_...Lotor!!..._

Zarkon's jaded, cat-like eyes narrowed until they were nothing but burning slits in his countenance as his listless state was suddenly replaced with thoughts of his impertinent spawn. And they weren't very nice ones, either. His hand curling into a tight fist, he slammed it vengefully against the arm of his throne, narrowly missing the pointy end of his golden scepter. Lotor was a dead man, no doubt about it. What he had done last week was nothing short of digging his own grave.

He had had to suffer indignities and humiliations that no man of his station should ever have to suffer through. For days on end, he worked his hands to the bone in that stinking pig pit, and although he was conscious of every movement he made, he, for some reason, couldn't stop. It was as if the very thought of the boy being unhappy fueled his undesired actions. But what the hell did he care about Lotor's feelings? The whelp was merely a tool...

"And my wittle bittie baby!" Zarkon suddenly gushed out of the blue in an over exaggerated fatherly pride, his pupils morphing into heart-shapes, "And I'm his daddy! I wuv him so mu- what the hell?! Damn it!!"

Violently shaking his head, he jolted the last of the ...drug's?... influence free as his eyes shortly returned back to normal; from time to time, he was still forced to endure temporary bouts of insanity induced by the blasted substance, whatever it was. Hopefully, they would go away soon.

_...They had damn better well!!... _

Another minute of him acting bipolar and fawning over his offspring seemed unbearable. Just thinking about it made Zarkon want to stick his tongue out in distaste and puke his guts out. It just... just... wasn't him. And what would everyone think if the all-powerful Lord of the Doom Empire suddenly became a slave to his boy's whims? He would have to institute more mandatory public whippings just to keep the fear factor level the same around here!

...Ah, Alfor must be laughing in his grave, wherever he is..., Zarkon grimaced as he momentarily thought of his formal rival, ...First, his daughter sticks my son's head so far up his ass he can't see daylight, and now... well, look at me!...

Ever so slowly, Zarkon's pent-up rage had continued to grow and fester as he vehemently declined any help offered to him by puzzled onlookers while he was pitching robeast crap over his shoulders with the ridiculously tiny pooper scooper in hand. Why had they been puzzled? Because he had been performing the duty reserved for the lowliest of slaves. But after his adamant refusals, they had simply shrugged their shoulders and went on with their business, obviously accustomed to the eccentricities of their monarch.

However all encompassing his wrath towards Lotor was, though, it was, oddly enough, offset with a grudging admiration. He was still pissed off as hell, but what the kid had done had taken guts. He had spunk. Zarkon hated spunk, though, at least when it was directed towards him. The boy would have to pay, alright. Big time.

Perhaps Haggar could do something to counteract the effects of whatever it was that had been blown onto his handsome self. He vaguely remembered the witch twittering inanely about some emotion-reversing potion she had concocted a couple of weeks ago. Could this drug be the one and the same? Probably. Knowing Lotor, he could have swiped it or blackmailed it off of Haggar in yet another no-brainer ploy to get in between the sheets with that damned princess. Or to knock off his old man in some way. Who really knew?

As if reading his thoughts, a familiar, stooped form abruptly materialized out of the darkness, scaring the crap out of him, as usual.

"I really wish you would stop doing that...," Irritated, Zarkon greeted his advisor as he massaged his temples with calloused hands.

"Oh, poor baby, does Zarkie have a boo-boo?" Haggar simpered condescendingly as she neared him, gripping her staff in a feigned concerned manner.

"Didn't I tell them not to let you in until you were finally housebroken?" he retorted errantly, trying unsuccessfully to wave her away.

If his statement had bothered her in the least, it didn't show, for she laughed as if it were the funniest thing.

"Eeheeheehee! If there's one thing I've always loved about you," cackled Haggar, winking at him impishly, "It would have to be your crass sense of humor."

"Well, I'd tell you to shove your wand up where the sun don't shine," he sneered, tucking a few strands of imaginary hair behind his webbed ears, "But if I remember right, you left the batteries out this time, and I know how much you like those." He sent a curt smirk towards her, making it obvious where Lotor got his infamous half-smile from.

"And you'd know that, wouldn't you, stud muffin?" she snickered, looking unfazed.

"Damn it, quit calling me that!!" Zarkon shouted in frustration, but immediately regretted it as his pounding headache returned with a vengeance, "It feels like I have a freaking hangover!"

"You are almost fortunate Lotor didn't do anything else to you," Haggar pointed out a bit more seriously as she bent down to scratch behind the ears of her ever-present familiar, who had appeared just as suddenly as his mistress.

Zarkon felt another inner pain akin to the one in his head that felt like a robeast and Princess Allura's governess sumo wrestling in the recesses of his brain. "You have got to be kidding me! You knew about that?"

"Well, just about everyone saw you cleaning up after the robeasts, Sweetums," she explained, fluttering her eyelashes and standing back up as her blue cat rubbed his head against the hem of robes, "And what man in his sane mind would willingly do that?"

Sourly leaning back even further into his throne, the Drule monarch curled his lower lip in disgust, "Well, I suppose there's nothing that can be done about it now, other than to order the executions of everyone who witnessed me... doing what I did, but I'm too tired to do even that... And geez, I thought I told you to quit calling me those nauseating pet names!! I am not your 'sweet-heart', 'sweet-ass', or 'sweet' anything! Not anymore!!" He shuddered shortly after saying that.

"Whatever you say, my burning hunk of passion," she tittered mischievously, obviously paying no mind to his complaints, "Anyways, I came up here to let you know that I have something that will make me - I mean, you, feel a w-h-o- l-e lot better."

"Really?" inquired Zarkon stupidly, suddenly jumping out of his seat with a renewed vigor and curiosity, "You have something that'll clear my system of that stuff Lotor blew at me?"

"Eh, sure, whatever, " Haggar shrugged, "It'll make you forget all about it, at least."

"Well, then, lemme have it!!"

A facetious glint sparked in the spry woman's yellow eyes. "I thought you'd never ask!"

Dramatically moving a withered hand into her robe, she gradually withdrew it, revealing a small box, suspiciously similar to the one Lotor had possessed, in her clenched fist. Opening it reverently, she unveiled an odd, white powder that was also suspiciously similar to the substance his son had blown into his face.

After a long while, his dinosaur brain finally put two and two together.

"Holy shit!! That is the same stuff!!" Zarkon gasped in horror, preparing to dive behind his throne for cover, "You wouldn't dare, witch!!"

But she did.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 47**

As Haggar looked on, the veritable whirlwind of bone-white powder then swirled around Zarkon's quaking form and up into his nostrils, dislodging a small, Drule coin he had shoved up there when he was just a bratty, little kid a long, l-o-n-g millennia ago.

..._damnitdamnitDAMNIT!! Not again!!..._, the defeated monarch swore in wild abandon as his now-curiously limp body slumped back with a huge thump into his gilded seat of power, _...I just freaking got nailed TWICE!!..._

As he at last began to succumb to one of the emotion-distorting drug's trademark sneezing fits, Haggar, the knowledgeable witch that she was, wisely decided to step back and watch her potion at work from a distance. Her golden eyes twinkled both with caution and the mischief born of woman who was simply bored and had nothing better to do than to wreak havoc as Zarkon's head reeled back from sneeze after robeastian sneeze.

Finally, the aged king expelled his last sneeze and his prone body collapsed back onto his throne, his bloodshot eyes glazed like donuts. His crimson robes draped over his tall form like a massive curtain. Zarkon's face was perfectly statuesque until a wide, vacant smile suddenly curved across his large lips.

Meanwhile, Haggar gripped her hands together tightly and blinked expectantly. ...What would happen? ...Would the drug even work?!...

While her mind fairly bubbled with fantasies of all of the different ways her king would sweep her off her feet, Zarkon continued to grin like an idiot, and the sorceress continued to stare.

...And what a sorceress she was! His suddenly lustful gaze darted rapidly over her just-as-suddenly very shapely-appearing body as he eagerly strained forward in his seat, his knuckles turning a shade of light-blue from gripping his throne's armrests so tightly. He had never really noticed, but... Haggar was... quite att...ract...ive...

Zarkon inwardly shuddered over this unwilling epiphany over his own witch and he struggled to swallow the lump that was now forming in his constricted throat, but his forced appraisal of her continued on in horrifying detail as if it had a will of its own.

Her eyes, which had seemed so harsh and outlined before, now gleamed like two dusky stars as she peered at him hesitantly (she was still wondering if her powder was working) like a shy doe (whatever the hell that was) from under her cowl, and her curvy curves played hide-and-seek with him from within the folds of her all-but-too concealing shabby, brown cloak, hinting at the sexy (blegh!) body beneath.

Oh-so-slowly, almost dramatically (cue music!), Haggar raised her hand and pulled her hood back to get a better look at her handiwork, forcibly making the Drule monarch's heart jump up pounding into his throat.

Until this moment, he had never known what it was like to have his breath taken away... unless you counted the time when Lotor punched him below the belt when he was five... but that's another story all on its own.

_...No! Make it stop! Makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop!!..._, Zarkon mentally begged and pleaded to any God who might've been listening to him at the moment to show mercy on him, but to no avail; there was no sudden, blinding miracle to save him from what was about to happen.

He wanted to screw his eyeballs shut with an intense desire and run far, far away, as if he had run into one of those mythical Terran gorgon-creatures, from the sight that now awaited him, but instead of being magically petrified, his pulse quickened a hundredfold.

...There was no mere word that could begin to describe the vision that greeted his roving stare...

Long, luxurious hair _(...she's got hair?!..._) crowned a chiseled face, framing Haggar's beautiful..., no, ethereal features and immaculate, pale flesh... The rest of it cascaded like a rushing stream of ecstasy behind her graceful, swan (whatever the hell that was, too)-like neck. She was gorgeous, no... She was an angel! No... A GODDESS!!

Zarkon was in awe (and salivating, but that's beside the point)... for the first time in his life, he felt inspired to the bursting point. He found himself wanting to all of sudden spout bad poetry, to trot off to the distant corners of the galaxy and do gallantly megalomaniacal deeds to earn the devotion of this dream woman, to... have a roll in the sack. Whatever.

In the meantime, Haggar had not budged an inch from her spot, although her shrewd brain was still at work, noting any changes that occurred to Zarkon's, albeit blank, fiendishly-smiling visage with an almost infinite patience. Something was happening... that was for sure.

And finally, that special something did occur.

Leaning back into his throne at last, Zarkon relaxed his grip and, neatly summing up all of his newfound scrutinies and romantic aspirations for his advisor, suavely stated, "You look very becoming in that... ah... whatever the hell it is that you're wearing, Haggar..."

The witch immediately felt the onslaught of a blush coming on.

"Why, thank you, sire! I made it myself out of a potato sack!" she giggled like a school girl a quarter of her age.

With a Lotor-like smirk, he leered, "Of course, if I were on you, I'd be-"

"Okay, you just watch your mouth, mister," Haggar interrupted witheringly as she impatiently drummed her fingers across a hip, brutally cutting the king's come-on short, "Just because you run things around here does not give you the right to act like your fool son!"

Zarkon gracefully rose up and swept his robes to the side with a large hand.

"If I didn't know any better, Haggar, I'd think you were trying to give me lip," he replied dangerously, the same, crooked half-smile on his face, advancing towards her in a predatory manner until his breath was hot on her neck, "...No one tells me what to do... And I have punished slaves for even less... You didn't need to be... punished... did you, Haggar?"

A calculating grin spread across the wily sorceress's visage, her miffed-ness banished immediately as she took in the full effectiveness of her drug. Oh, she knew that this wouldn't last (Lotor and that damned Arusian princess were a prime example of that!), but oh, the fun she was going to have while it did... Haggar was thrilled to the core. Zarkon's gargantuan frame was still near.

She sobered up her features with the most innocent expression she could manage.

"And just what are you going to do to me, Your Lordship?" she inquired as naively as Allura-ly possible, a coy arch to one of her eyebrows.

In a low voice that sent shivers running down her spine, the oh-so-cool leader of Doom simply answered, "That, my dear, is for me to know... and for you to find out."

"Eeheeheeheehee!" Haggar cackled with ill-concealed glee as he swiftly hefted her up into his massive arms and proceeded to make off with her like a bandit.

In reply, Zarkon merely smirked once again as he made a beeline for behind his throne.

"Who's your daddy now?"

Haggar only continued to giggle like a teenaged girl... It was about damned time that some of her work paid off around here!

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 48**

The very faint light of Doom's nearest star spilled through a window in Castle Doom's throne room and fell across the king of the Doom Empire, and Zarkon decided that he felt like something a robeast had sat on. Granted, he wasn't in any physical pain, but his mind felt like it was strained to its utmost limit, as if it had been forced to endure some great labor or weight... Just what the hell had happened to him, anyways?!

Inwardly, he knew, but he wanted so badly to deny that it ever happened. But he knew the truth... the terrible, horrible, gruesome truth... that in one night, even though the flesh had been unwillingly made to be willing (try saying that five times fast!), he had mentally been reduced from the terror of the universe to a whimpering, cringing child in the worse way possible...

_...In one night, I was neutered of all my pride and manhood like a dog..._, he reflected with dread, and shuddered yet again with remembrance, _...But the way I went, no one, not even a slave, deserves to go that way... SO WHAT THE HELL DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!..._, Zarkon wanted to yell indignantly to the very heavens, but, of course, couldn't, _...I never hurt anyone! ...Much..._

Zarkon, however, was past the stage where he would normally run around in a panicked frenzy, screaming bloody murder from the horror of it all for the whole galaxy to hear; logic, for once, had set it in for the aged monarch. After all, when Lotor, that beloved spawn of his, had blown that blasted dust of Haggar's into his face a few days ago, had he not found the powder to have but a temporary hold on him as he gradually came to while mucking out the robeast arena like some insipid slave? So should it not behave similarly now??

_...Pleaseohpleaseplease wear off soon!..._, he silently begged.

He did not want to spend the rest of his days as his own witch's private plaything. Zarkon mentally blanched with fear as last night's events replayed themselves in his mind like some old bad horror movie from Earth.

In an odd contrast to his turbulent inner thoughts, however, the ruler maintained a very calm, and almost lazy, exterior. From behind his throne, he lounged underneath his out-spread royal garments with his brawny hands resting underneath his head, conveying an image of utter satisfaction, and of someone who had just conquered a brand new planet - without a single frickin' care in the universe. His crown dangled haphazardly from one of his large, webbed ears, and with his lips, Zarkon languidly played around with his newfound prize - a Terran cigarette (he stole it from a slave, okay?).

As the cigarette's smoke slowly leaked out of his mouth and curled into the air, a new outline began to emerge next to him; Haggar momentarily wriggled and surfaced for air from underneath his robes, and her eyes glimmered with a now-youthful, golden spark.

Unfortunately, she also opened her mouth.

"Wow! That was just so amazing!" she gibbered unendingly, "And...," Zarkon, at this point in time, decided to tune her out, "... Just wait until I tell...!" "...the best time..." "...Can we do that AGAIN?!"

Biting down on the edge of his cigarette with a pointed canine, he irritably drawled out as he glanced incredulously in her direction, "Damn it, woman, I told you - I'm spent! What do I look like, some bloody amusement park ride?"

Stilling herself, the witch managed to recapture some of her dry wit.

"Well, the all-powerful Lord of the universe you certainly aren't today, are you?" Haggar's tone fairly dripped with sarcasm.

Zarkon leisurely flicked his ashes into a corner and grinned cheesily at his indignant advisor, "That ain't what you said last night, baby..."

Haggar rolled her eyes up towards the ceiling in disgust.

"Charmed, I'm sure..." she muttered as she suddenly rose up (censor bars! CENSOR BARS!!) from within the folds of his clothing, all of her previous ardor for him forgotten at the moment, "...Men! They think with one thing, and with one thing only! I swear!..." The latter she more of the line sighed to herself as she gathered up the shredded remains of her cloak from where it had been carelessly tossed onto the side of the throne.

The Drule king, who still remained on the floor, gave her his best "Who, me?" expression.

"Hey, I didn't mean for the rest of the day! I just meant for now!" he shrugged his enormous shoulders helplessly as his eyes widened plaintively, "I just need some time to recuperate, that's all. There's plenty of Zarkon to go around!"

"Don't let me hold the line up," Haggar answered wryly as she began to exit the throne room, her battered garb unashamedly flung over one arm (luckily, there were no soldiers, servants, or slaves around to see this because... uh, they were all out on a company picnic, yeah - it was a nice a day out), "Coba, come!"

At the sound of her command, the sorceress's blue cat obediently trotted out from somewhere beneath the throne, his yellow, saucer-like eyes frozen in an unblinking stare because, unlike the fortunate castle staff who happened to be gone for the morning, he had not been spared from witnessing the evil, evil event that had transpired in this very room last night... And so the poor familiar somehow avoided bonking into random objects as he followed his mistress back to her lab.

It wasn't until Haggar had actually left the room that Zarkon finally dared try and regain some of his shorn dignity.

"Eh, it's her loss, I suppose," he reasoned to himself out loud, methodically rubbing his chin in thought.

Shrugging his shoulders once more, the monarch of planet Doom merely rested his forearms beneath his head again and proceeded to doze off, his serene expression never betraying the shock and horror his mind was still reeling from.

* * *

**Opposites Attract, Ch. 49**

At that moment, Haggar, with Coba in tow, was still making her way towards her lair, but for some reason, she was no longer as cross or exasperated as she had appeared when she last departed Zarkon's presence. There was now a hint of youthful color to her cheeks, and her eyes glinted like she was a sprightly 16 years old again. In fact, some of the castle personnel who were just now returning (from the picnic, remember?) could almost swear that the now (thankfully) fully-clothed, old witch had some extra spring in her step. Just what was her secret? Well, whatever it was, it was evident that she was going to keep it to herself.

Humming a random song to herself under her breath, Haggar practically floated down the hallway. It was as if years of stress had been melted away from her soul! Zarkon may act like a buffoon sometimes, but he was a man, and like all men, he was just one of those aspects of life that sometimes frustrated the hell out of her and made her unexplainably happy at the same time. She had missed him terribly, but she had been forced to bide her time for many years... until now...

A crafty smile sprang to Haggar's lips as she habitually reached down with her withered hand to feel her familiar's fuzzy presence. Oh, she would definitely have to get back to work on her emotion-altering drug. It was far from perfect, but given a little time, she would be able to make it really pack a wallop - now that she had had the chance to use a guinea pig (who just so happened to be the tactless prince of Doom) on her powder, she was beginning to appreciate the more subtle ways in which her powers could manifest themselves. Haggar tittered diabolically to herself as new plans and ideas began to spin about in her head.

So maybe she had cheated a little in returning to her beloved's arms; the dust had, after all, reversed Zarkon's feelings for her. But what he didn't realize was that, buried deep beneath his apparent distaste for her, fond memories of their times together before Lotor's birth, and when she had been beautiful, still resided. So the dust had not created an entirely artificial longing for her; could the drug have operated differently than how she thought it would? Perhaps, instead of messing with the dominant emotion, it instead enhanced and distorted the hidden feelings that lay beneath? ...Was it possible that she did not know some of her very own spells as well as she thought she did?

_...I'll be damned... I'll have to research my sources more closely... _

Haggar paused momentarily as a new thought struck her. Could this also be the case with Lotor and his precious princess? Oh, she was very much aware of everything that had transpired between the two royals over the past couple of weeks. After all, a bored witch with a crystal ball, untold dark powers at her command, and a month's worth of munchies had to have something to snoop on and laugh her ass off at late at night, right? And she had laughed... and laughed... and laughed... and then watched, to her almost sheer disbelief, as the two seemed to develop a deeper bond and understanding of each other, despite the insane circumstances at the time.

_...Well, pop my eyeball out and call me Yurak... I never thought I'd see the day..._, the wizened hag pondered to herself.

Haggar knew that, underneath all of the myriad kidnap attempts and weekly demands for such-and-such a surrender, Lotor really did care for that Arusian tart, and that underneath all of her noble objections and protests, Allura was at least a little attracted to the sometimes thick-headed prince, but for her to actually willingly warm, at least a little bit, to him when he, for the first time, did not try and force it from her? Impossible.

But crazier things have happened.

_...Just look at Mogor... he's still here... _

But then would that mean... her spell, which was designed partially with the intent to wreak mischief (which it certainly did!) in mind, had also wrought some twisted form of white magic, as well? Haggar had to restrain herself from vigorously shaking her head back and forth. No way. There was just no way her brand of magic could be contaminated with the likes of that goody-goody rubbish. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

With that aside, her private meditations eventually meandered back to where they had been (the sorceress was definitely now taking her sweet time in getting back to her lair), and she stumbled across yet another unlikely mental roadblock.

_...You know... I think I almost envy the princess... To be loved so intensely by someone... God knows I would give anything for Zarkon to love me the way Lotor loves her... And yet his son and I have more in common than we acknowledge... to love somebody who cannot love us back... It's almost as if someone is playing some grand, cruel joke on us…_, Haggar chuckled mirthlessly to herself, _...And yet I have seemed to have unintentionally given a light of hope to Lotor for what could possibly be his only chance at real happiness in life..._

Haggar all of a sudden stopped in the middle of the hallway and Coba, of course, still blinded, collided into the back of her legs. For the first time in her life, the old crone realized that she didn't care. Doom... Arus... Voltron... the Empire... the Alliance... the war... the conspiracies... none of it was important at the moment. All that mattered was going for that one seemingly unattainable goal... and Lotor, branded a love-sick fool time and time again despite his feared reputation, was the only person she knew who had the courage and infinite patience and perseverance to obtain what was most important to him, regardless of the daunting odds he faced. And for the first time, Haggar genuinely respected him for that.

_...Whatever comes your way, Lotor, I know that you will be blessed in reaching what you truly want... After all, that which is pursued must eventually be caught..._, the sorceress then carefully looked back and forth to make sure no one was looking when her wry smirk momentarily transformed into a peaceful smile, which looked almost out of place among her distinct features, _...And one can almost hope that I will have your same good fortune..._

And just as suddenly as it had appeared, the tranquil look vanished.

"Eeheeheehee!" Haggar cackled out loud, sounding more like her old self again, "Geez, Coba, you almost let me get philosophical on myself again!"

And with that, she yanked her familiar up into scrawny arms and hugged him tightly.

"You know, I almost forgot! Do you remember what today is?"

"Mre-ow?"

The old witch slowly brought her face up to his own and eyeballed him.

She whispered cryptically, "... It's Grooming Day... and you... need... a... bath!"

Coba made a sound like he was coughing up a hairball, and he made a few token attempts to wriggle out of her arms and escape, but he was simply too tired to put up as much of a fight as he had last time. And so he resigned himself to his fate.

Tucking the listless, blue-furred cat under one of her arms, Haggar blissfully continued on. She would need to put off working on her emotion-altering spell because of Coba's bath time, but she couldn't help but think that, for all the grief that it caused at first, maybe it was for the best that Lotor had bungled up with her handiwork. Even if some people didn't realize it yet. Haggar smiled to herself once more as her thoughts turned towards her currently prostrate king.

But he would... he would... She would make sure of it.

**End**


End file.
